In The Middle
by Play It Grand
Summary: “So what? This thing,” Jack roared, gesturing violently at the pillar over his shoulder, “made it snow, dropped a ton of water over there, froze it, and now the gate is under the water? What is this thing? A giant Touchstone?”
1. Chapter 1

**In The Middle**

**by Play It Grand**

Begun: 2/7/05

Completed: 4/13/06

Revamp Completed: 6/3/08

Season 4, after Window of Opportunity

References to: Stargate (The Movie), The Nox, Thor's Hammer, The Torment of Tantalus, Solitudes, There But For The Grace Of God, Holiday, The Fifth Race, Touchstone, Pretence, Tangent, Window of Opportunity

Author's note: This was my very first story idea, but it is my second attempt to write fan fiction. This is also my first adventure or action story. Actually, it's more like a mystery story. The first was strictly a character development thing. The idea came to me while I was desperately trying to get to sleep on a school night. I have no clue where it came from. I just feel lucky that it all came back to me the next morning so I could write up a guideline to work from. It has grown a lot since then. My original idea did not include how to get them out of the trouble I put them in, or the long term consequences.

Please note that "Lauria" is pronounced like "Laureea", and "Xanthus" is pronounced like Zanthus, not X-anthus. Readers who are familiar with Disney's movie, "Escape to Witch Mountain", may recognize the significance of the name "Xanthus" in this story.

Thanks to: Theresa for unknowingly picking the season for me, Laura for giving me inspiration by insisting on being written in as a character and being killed off in some way other than being shot, and a _very_ special thanks to Jenny for once again being my Beta reader, and to Rebecca, my new Beta reader who was kind enough to rip this thing apart for me. Any errors that you find are mine, not their's.

If you want to make a guess at what has happened to the team before they find out, you might want to take a few notes!

Comments and constructive criticism are _greatly_ appreciated! No, wait, that's an understatement. I live for it!!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

Colonel Jack O'Neill made his way through the halls of the SGC just like he did on any "normal" day on the base, with one tiny exception. There was an extra bounce in his step and he couldn't hide a sly grin of excitement.

As Jack made his way to the control room, Dr. Daniel Jackson joined him, and diagnosed the reason for Jack's enthusiasm in two seconds flat.

"Sam's going to launch a U.A.V., isn't she?"

"Yup," Jack replied, and then doing a slow double-take, looked curiously at his friend. "I just caught Siler wheeling one out of Carter's lab towards the gateroom. How'd you find out?"

"Never mind," Daniel answered dismissively, smiling to himself.

They climbed the short set of steps just in time to see the Stargate's great "Kawoosh!"

"The U.A.V. is ready for launch, sir." Major Samantha Carter sat at one of the computer consoles, prepared to watch the telemetry they were about to receive. She directed her statement to Major General George Hammond, who was standing beside her as Sergeant Siler gave Sam the thumbs up from the gateroom.

"Then you may launch, Major."

Jack moved closer. He just had to have front row seat. Daniel was not too far behind, but he was more interested in the video feed they were about to get than the actual launch itself. Jack just liked to watch the thrusters burst into flame, ever the typical weapon toting air force officer . . . or a fireworks loving kid, depending on how well you knew him.

"Launching U.A.V. in 5…4…3…2…1." With a resounding bang and a fluid whoosh the oversized model plane zipped through the Stargate.

"Have I mentioned how much I love watching that?" Jack asked, beaming.

"Yes, Jack. Many times," Daniel answered sagely, making Carter smile all the more. She reined in her amusement just enough to report the M.A.L.P.'s progress with a straight voice.

"We have incoming telemetry. Directing the flight pattern towards the unidentifiable structure seen by the M.A.L.P. It will be a few minutes before the probe gets a clear view of it. Daniel, you're going to want to see this," she said, making room for the archeologist to see the screen. "Did you look at that video I brought you?"

"What video?" Jack cut in, enthusiasm dampened somewhat over being left out of the loop.

_Damn those memos . . . _

"We sent a M.A.L.P. to this planet, P5X726, a few hours ago," Sam said patiently. "It's one of the planets that you added to our database when the ancient repository was downloaded into your mind."

"Ah, the memories…and what did our trusty M.A.L.P. find this time?"

The Colonel's sarcasm was far from lost on his team and he knew it, but it was ignored with practiced patience and Carter pressed valiantly on. "There's a small structure about twenty meters from the gate, and what appears to be another much larger one approximately fifteen klicks from the gate in among a series of mountains. We couldn't use the M.A.L.P. to determine what it was, so hopefully the camera I installed on the U.A.V. will give us a good view of it…whatever it is."

"Yes, and hopefully it's something that can help us figure out what the heck the smaller thing is," Daniel added ruefully.

"Do you have any theories on what it could be, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"General, think about who you're asking." Jack said, cutting in again. "When does he _not_ have a theory?"

Hammond dismissed the interruption, something he had become very good at during his four years of working with Colonel O'Neill, and turned his attention back to Daniel.

"Well, it could easily be some type of ceremonial place, but I can't determine what for," Daniel said enthusiastically, puzzled but fascinated at the same time. "The fact that the only possible structure is so far away from the gate suggests that whatever culture lives or lived there has little or no use for it or the Stargate. I couldn't see if there are markings on the structure, but if there are I can't make them out from what the M.A.L.P. sent back. We need to go have a closer look, General."

This last statement had a hint of a plea behind it.

_Oh boy_, Jack thought to himself, _another archeol-whatchamacallit field trip…_

"Let's see what the U.A.V. shows us first and go from there, shall we?" Hammond replied carefully.

"Coming within range now, sir," Sam piped up. "Wow."

Daniel leaned in for a closer look as Jack and General Hammond watched on separate monitors. The tree-covered mountain range peeled away as the U.A.V. advanced to reveal what was once surely a beautiful stone city, but now was in ruins. Time had been very hard on it. The reddish brown stone-hewn walls were permeated by countless cracks and fissures. Several of the buildings looked as though they had once been composed of several stories that had long since collapsed, making their architectural origins difficult to determine. A least one building looked as though the roof had caved in. Few remained intact. It was a long way from being a city, especially by modern standards, but it was considerably larger than most towns SG-1 had found previously.

"Wow, I think, is the right word, Sam," Daniel said, his crystal blue eyes alight as his glasses reflected the ruins on the monitor. He frowned slightly as he examined the masonry of the buildings more carefully. "This stone is nothing like what that other stone structure is made of. This looks like some sort of red sandstone, but that other thing is black, and from what I could see, completely smooth.

Jack decided to play dense – one of his favorite ways to push Daniel's buttons – and ask blankly, "So?"

Daniel stifled an exasperated sigh, which Jack found quite satisfying, and began a rapid-fire explanation for his benefit. "_So _that means that those black stones came from somewhere else. Given the proximity to the 'gate it might have even come through that, which means that object and the city could have significant value. We _really_ need to go have a look at this."

"Are there any signs of life in the area, Major?" Hammond asked patiently, turning to Sam.

"Bringing the thermal scanners online now, sir." After a few moments of rapid typing, a red line swept across the monitor as the heat sensors went to work. "There's nothing in the immediate vicinity. I'll set the U.A.V. on a flight pattern over the ruins to do a full sweep, but everything indicates that this place has been abandoned for several decades…maybe more."

"Alright. Let me know the results as soon as the sweep is done." With that, General Hammond climbed the stairs to the briefing room and his office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

KAWOOSH!

Birds in the nearby trees flew off in surprise as four figures emerged from the Stargate with the ease gained from years of practice and habit.

"Carter, get your soil samples. Teal'c, stick with her. Just cuz the U.A.V. didn't find any life, that doesn't mean there couldn't be someone…, or _something_… around here. Daniel, fer cryin' out loud, slow down!"

The young archeologist had not even paused after they exited the Stargate, and was heading straight for the odd black stone object the M.A.L.P. had seen. There was so much more to it than what he had been able to see from the M.A.L.P. feed. Daniel's heartbeat quickened to match his pace as his anticipation of some great discovery grew.

There was a three-sided pillar about five and a half feet tall surrounded by ten boulders, each with one glassy smooth side facing in toward the pillar. Each side was less than vertical, leaning in on each other like a very steep three-sided pyramid that angled even more drastically about a foot from the top and tapered to a sharp point. Each of the surrounding boulders was roughly hewn on the outside and about three feet tall, and each was only a foot and a half from the next, creating a tight circle with the pillar in center. These eleven objects, so precisely positioned, looked like they where made of black obsidian.

Daniel ignored Jack's cursing and walked between the boulders, and as he did so, something happened that made him freeze. The moment he entered the circle, golden light had flashed out of the sides of the pillar and out of the smooth sides of each of the ten boulders. It was small and faded off slowly, but Daniel had sunspots in his eyes from it.

Jack saw the flash and hurried to join Daniel inside the circle to see if he was O.K. Sam and Teal'c ran after him.

"What happened?"

"There was a flash…did you see it?"

"Yes Daniel, we saw it" Jack growled none too kindly. Then forcing is voice into a more friendly and consigned tone, he said, "Are you ok?"

Daniel took his glasses off and rubbed his lightly watering eyes. When he opened them the spots of color were gone. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good. Now what the hell did you touch?"

_Why is it always something I did? _Aloud, Daniel exclaimed defensively, "Nothing! I must have activated something when I came inside it." He indicated the circle of boulders by spinning around with his arms extended like one of those old painted tin toys that moved because of the pull of gravity on them when you pumped the knob in the top to make it spin. Those were the days.

Sam dug into her pack and pulled out one of her many instruments. To Jack this one resembled an oversized graphing calculator with an antenna on it.

"There is some sort of energy signature and traces of radiation here, Colonel…nothing dangerous," Sam said, walking into the circle. "In fact," she continued as she walked towards the pillar, "my guess is there's an energy source inside of this."

"Hang on." Daniel said suddenly. "This wasn't here a second ago."

The sides of the pillar – which had appeared as smooth as glass just moments before – were now covered with script, and half way up each side of the pillar was a hand print with fingers clearly defined, but right next to each other instead of splayed apart as one is accustomed to seeing.

"This is like one of the four writings we found at Heliopolis." Daniel said in awe.

"Asgard?" Jack asked hopefully.

"No…"

"Ancient?"

"No…It must be either from the Nox or the Furlings, but since I've never had the chance to ask Lya what the Nox written language looks like…hang on a sec…There are symbols mixed in here that I've never seen before…Actually, they make up most of the text… "

"So? Can't you just figure out the rest and work from there?" Jack asked warily. He knew what was coming. He was going to have to sit and wait until Daniel had either translated the whole thing or realized that it couldn't be done…and if Daniel couldn't do it, nobody could.

"Actually, no. I have no idea what this is supposed to mean, let alone what it might sound like…" Daniel's voice trailed off as he continued to look at the symbols with child-like fascination.

Jack looked around, starting to take in the landscape. Bright white sand that glittered in the sun surrounded the Stargate and the device, as it was now being called, and the tree line began just a few meters off, making an almost perfect circle with the Stargate at its center. It was as though the trees were a slowly advancing army, bound and determined to wipe out the last signs of what might have been a beautiful beach thousands of years ago. The land sloped down gently towards the 'gate. The M.A.L.P. still sat obediently in front of the 'gate, waiting to be sent home.

Jack sighed audibly. "Well, normally I'd leave Teal'c here with Danny, and Carter and I would go have a look at that other thing, but it's too far away if something went wrong…I don't suppose I'm going to get you to leave here anytime soon, am I?" Jack asked Daniel, wondering why he even bothered.

A muffled "nope" reached him from the opposite side of the pillar.

"Great."

"This appears to be a human hand print. Would that not suggest that the Nox most likely built this device, DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked as he joined the others inside the perimeter of boulders.

"Possibly, but since we've never met a Furling we have no way of knowing that their hands aren't just like ours…but this definitely rules out the Asgard. This print is way too big…" His voice trailed off as he placed his hand in the print to demonstrate the perfect fit.

All at once, the three sides of the pillar burst into life again, but this time with blinding white hot intensity.

_Oops._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Jack lay on the ground, mind foggy and vision nonexistent at first, but slowly grew to blurry and spotted at best. _This must be what it feels like to be hit with a hundred of those damn Gould shock grenades at once. _He groaned and sluggishly tried to roll over. A few feet away from him he could make out the shapes of Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c as they began to stir too.

Jack dug has hands into the sand as he tried to stand up. His hands disappeared deep into it. It was cold…not like sand that has been in the shade for hours on a hot summer's day…No, this was much colder. This was ice cold, and there was way too much of it.

_Snow. _

Jack stood up as his vision finally cleared, just knowing he was going to dread the sight around him.

Snow, everywhere. Well, not quite everywhere…there was what looked like a lake a few meters away, but nothing else met the eye except snow and trees covered in it.

Daniel settled his glasses back onto his nose as he got up from the ground. "What just happened?"

"There was a great flash of light. It impaired our vision much like Goa'uld shock grenades do, but only for a moment. It also seems to have rendered us all unconscious for a prolonged length of time." Teal'c said matter-of-factly.

Jack ripped the Velcro cover off of his watch. Normally correct down to the second, it was currently flashing portions of unreadable numbers, as if the battery was struggling to stay alive but losing the battle. "My watch is on the fritz."

"So is mine, sir. My instruments detected a huge energy spike from the device. It may have wiped the program chip in our watches clean. Luckily the casing on the rest of our equipment seems to have shielded it." Sam said, once again looking at the oversized calculator. She then packed it away and began taking in the surroundings. "Ah, sir? I think we have a problem."

"Which one, Carter?" Jack asked irritably, starting to get the ominous feeling that this was going to be another one of 'those days'. "The fact that we are surrounded by snow, the fact that we don't know what time it is, or perhaps the fact that we are surrounded by _snow_?"

"Um, actually sir…you're not going to like this…"

"What?"

Sam squirmed as Daniel and Teal'c stared off into the distance, and then just got it over with.

"The Stargate is gone."

Jack whipped around. It _was_ gone. The Stargate, the DHD, even the M.A.L.P. was gone. The body of water he had barely taken note of a minute ago was exactly where they used to be.

"O.K. What the _hell_ is going on here?" He looked to Sam, who usually had an answer for his rhetorical questions, but this time even Carter looked confused. He looked around to the other two members of his team. Teal'c seemed perplexed, but his stony features did not allow for any more interpretation. Daniel kept looking back and forth from the pillar to the lake, wide eyed.

When Daniel saw Jack watching him, he knew it was only a matter of seconds before…

"_**Daniel!"**_

_Uh oh. _He winced.

"_How many times have I told you 'don't touch anything'?" _Jack roared.

"How was I to know it was going to knock us out and move us away from the gate?"

"I don't know, but that's not the point!"

"Actually, sir, I don't think the device has moved us anywhere," Sam broke in, trying to rescue Daniel from the Colonel's verbal thrashing. "The dip in the land where the water is now was there when we gated in, and the tree line is farther away than before, but essentially the same."

"So what? This thing," Jack roared, gesturing violently at the pillar over his shoulder, "made it snow, dropped a ton of water over there, froze it, and now the gate is under the water? What is this thing? A giant Touchstone?"

Sam shook her head and looked back down at her gadget while Daniel started pouring over the symbols on the pillar again. Teal'c couldn't do much to help except stand guard while they tried to figure things out. Jack, meanwhile, was getting very cold and it was bringing back some very unpleasant memories.

"O.K. Daniel. I'm giving you permission just this once. Do whatever you did before again."

"Whoa, hang on Colonel. I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam interjected quickly.

"Why not, Carter? If he does it again it might undo whatever it just did!"

"But if it doesn't, we could end up in a much worse situation."

"Worse than this?" Jack asked, gesturing towards the foot of snow all around them with open arms.

Sam prayed for patience and continued with a measured tone. "Whatever this device is, it somehow uses a massive amount of energy to change the landscape. If Daniel sets it off again it could put things back to how they were, or it could change everything in a totally different way. We could wake up with a glacier sitting on top of us and no way out. And if the power source runs out –"

"O.K. O.K.! I get it! Daniel! No touchy!" Jack said, cutting Sam off. He had shuddered when Sam had said the word 'glacier'. She, who knew better than anyone how much he hated the cold… "So…we're stuck here until you and Daniel can figure out how to work this thing?"

"Ah, that's not going to work, Jack." Daniel spoke up as he stared at the figures on the pillar, hands pinned tightly behind his back. "I don't have any references for these symbols, and even if I did, without being able to gate home and get them they're useless. But…"

_Here it comes again…I'm not going to like this… _Jack rolled his eyes. "But?"

"We obviously need shelter. If the 'gate is under the ice of that lake there is no way for us to get it out anytime soon, and we don't have our nice warm winter jackets on."

These words rang true as Sam started to shiver. The planet had been a pleasant 55 degrees when they had arrived, so they had only their light weight green field jackets for warmth. On a planet that was now covered in ice and snow, that just was not going to cut it.

"If we can make it to that city," Daniel continued cautiously, "we will not only find some shelter, but we might find something that will tell us what this thing is and what it's for."

"You do realize that the city is fifteen clicks away. It usually takes us five hours to get that far on foot, and that's without a foot of snow to deal with…"

"I know, Jack, I know. But what other choice do we have?"

Jack stood still, wheels turning. The cold was really getting to him. Daniel was trying to ward off the numbness creeping into his hands, jamming them into his pockets. Even Teal'c showed some signs that he actually felt the cold, placing his free hand in his pocket for warmth while his other hand clutched his staff weapon.

_God, I hate being choiceless!_

"Alright, but we're really going to have to book it. It looks like the sun is going down, and once it's gone we had better be inside or we'll be in some real hot water."

"That is incorrect, O'Neill. By that time we will in fact be deep in snow at sub-zero temperatures, most likely dead."

"Teal'c, remind me to get you a book on metaphors and have Daniel translate it for you when we get home."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_I dedicate this chapter to Don S. Davis, 1942 -2008. Godspeed dear friend._

"We have a scheduled radio contact with SG-1, General." Sergeant Walter Harriman said as General Hammond made his way down the staircase.

"Dial it up, Sergeant."

"Yes sir."

One by one the chevrons spun into place as Walter counted them off. "Chevron seven, locked." The great blue wave raced forth and then disappeared. "Go ahead, sir."

"SG-1, this is General Hammond. Please come in."

Static.

"Colonel O'Neill, what's your status? Please respond."

No one returned his call.

"Bring up the camera on the M.A.L.P.," George ordered, frowning.

"Yes Sir." Fingers flew across the keyboard, and within seconds an image appeared on the monitor. But there was no large face looking close into the camera.

"Pan around and see if you can find them or anything that may indicate what's going on."

The image might as well have been a photograph of a nature lover's paradise. There were no signs of life save for the birds in the sky in the distance, but there were no signs of trouble either. The weather was perfect beyond the puddle. The sun was shining. The temperature read 58 degrees. The pure white sand was marked only by four sets of footprints, all headed towards the small structure 20 meters away, but not a soul was seen.

George was becoming concerned. Even though he knew by now that his flagship team could handle just about anything the galaxy could dish out, it also wasn't like the Colonel to miss a pre-arranged radio contact without good reason . . . and the good reasons were never something you could just shake a stick at. Irrepressible and irreverent he was, but unreliable and irresponsible, he was not. Something was up.

"Inform Major Griff. I want him and his team ready to go within the hour," he ordered, expertly masking the worry in his voice as he climbed back up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As the team trudged through the heavy snow it became obvious how much trouble they had gotten themselves into. The sun was dropping rapidly and clouds growing overhead were threatening to snow. They had no winter clothing, and though they had their emergency survival packs, what good were they to stave off freezing to death? Yet it was also very true that they had no other choice.

Taking turns at point and stepping in each other's footprints to make the going a little easier, the four friends tried to keep their minds off the cold by brainstorming over what had put them in their current situation: that stupid device.

"The readings I got from it were astronomical," Sam said, once again amazed by what another raced had accomplished. It somehow never failed to surprise her, no matter how many times they ran into advanced technology, just how much more Earth could eventually accomplish for itself in several hundred years. "Its power source must either be buried in the ground underneath it, or it must be very small and very efficient in order to generate that much energy."

"I don't think it was ceremonial at all…" Daniel mused, "Or at least I doubt it was meant to be. If any of what I managed to translate was right, it has something to do with the planet's history."

"What the hell does that have to do with a lake and a ton of snow that showed up outta no where?" Jack had been growing increasingly cranky as they made their slow progress to the ruins and he was at his worst by now. No one knew better than his team what Jack thought of freezing to death.

"I have no clue. Maybe if I could have translated more of it…" Daniel said, his tone becoming accusatory.

"Well maybe if you hadn't gone and touched it…"

"It is possible that something else triggered the device O'Neill." Teal'c said, wisely cutting off Jack's rebuke.

"Teal'c's right, sir. It could have been activated by any number of things. Our being here when it happened could have just been a bad coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidence, Major." Jack said gruffly.

"Oh really?" Daniel asked sarcastically. "Then what do you call that time when I found the quantum mirror? If I hadn't been sent to that particular version of Earth we wouldn't have known Apophis was coming after us until it was too late."

"That was a fluke. A lucky fluke, but still a fluke."

Daniel just shook his head dismissively. He knew it was pointless to argue with Jack's illogical and personal form of logic. Besides, it was too damn cold.

They dragged themselves along for some time in silence having run out of ideas, with the exception of Jack's unintelligible but obviously bad tempered muttering. They were all very cold. Sam's instruments read 35 degrees and dropping, but she didn't say so. She knew what the Colonel's response would be only too well.

"_It's cold! It doesn't take one of your doohickeys to tell me that, Carter!" _

She'd wait until asked, or until she had good news. Like the fact that they were getting close to where there should be a pass through the mountains that should lead them directly to the city.

"The city should be only three or four more clicks away, sir. There is a mountain pass up ahead that should take us straight there."

"Good. My socks are just about frozen solid in my boots." Jack said, fighting down the ugly urge to start blaming Daniel for their position again.

Daniel looked up at the small mountain range that loomed above them in the growing twilight about a mile away. "Um, correct me if I'm wrong, and I really hope I am, but doesn't snow have a nasty habit of blocking mountain passes?"

Jack's head whipped around to stare at him, daring Daniel to continue with that line of thought as though the thought itself would block the passage.

"It is possible," Sam said, feeling herself melt under the glare the Colonel had now turned on her, but it was her duty to tell the truth, good or bad. "We're going to just have to hope that whatever civilization made the city and the device will have come up with a way to keep the passage open."

"Well if we were dealing with the Asgard or the Ancients, I wouldn't have a problem with that." Jack grumbled loudly, getting that bad premonition all over again. "But what happens if there's no way through?"

Sam looked away, worry blemishing her features.

"Yeah, I figured as much," he muttered.

_Why couldn't things ever go right? Where is that tropical paradise planet when you need it?_

They continued on in silence as the ground continued in a slow incline, each team member daydreaming of something very warm. When they reached the foot of the mountains they had to focus themselves once again.

"This doesn't look good." Daniel said.

A hefty eight or so feet of snow was piled at the entrance of the pass, and the mound grew taller as it continued on towards where the city was.

"The pass is thoroughly blocked. The U.A.V. did not find any signs of an alternate way to the city." Teal'c said.

"I don't believe this…You mean to tell me that I'm going to have to go through the whole freezing to death thing again?" Jack moaned. Then suddenly his face lit up.

_Oh great, _Sam and Daniel thought to themselves, _yes, this is the perfect time for him to lose what's left of his mind. _

Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow as he watched Jack turn to him. "Gimme this a minute," Jack muttered as he took hold of Teal'c's staff weapon. Unsure of what Jack was up to, Teal'c hesitated a moment, but then relinquished the weapon.

Jack then marched over to within a few feet of the snow piled in the mountain pass, aimed into it, and fired. He fired, again, and again, and again…

"Jack?" Daniel asked, shouting over the sound of the weapon's fire as it echoed off the mountains and the dense forest. Jack kept shooting at the snow, melting it and creating great puffs of steam, as if doing so was its punishment for being in their way.

"Jack! You don't seriously think you're going to melt our way through, do you?"

Jack suddenly stopped and, still toting Teal'c's staff, walked forward to peer through the hole he had made.

"Looks like I don't have to," they heard him say as his voice echoed.

The hole that Jack had created was large enough for a man of Teal'c's size and bulk to easily fit through. Through the hole was a long tunnel that looked to be several miles long, and wide enough to allow five people to walk side-by-side without touching the walls. The walls themselves seemed to be made of snow, but the tunnel was well lit. The snow itself was glowing like a hall of white neon lights that one might find at an amusement park. One by one they climbed through the hole, amazed at their luck. Once again, something had been discovered through Jack's frustration and lack of patience.

"Wow. This is amazing. There must be some kind of force field here." Sam reached out experimentally to touch the wall. What her hand felt was a warm, gentle pressure, like when someone tries to bring two positive ends of two different magnets together. The harder she pushed, the more she felt the invisible resistance. Visibly, her touch caused the glowing wall to glow brighter with a white hot light.

"Yeah, that's a force field alright." Jack said, with the edge now gone off of his temper.

"It seems to be holding the snow back with a combination of force and heat. I don't understand why the thermo-scan on the U.A.V. didn't detect this." Sam said in awe.

"It is possible that the force field was not active when the U.A.V. passed over this area," Teal'c pointed out. "Perhaps it is able to detect the outside temperature and activates when there is snow present."

"It's certainly much warmer in here," Daniel murmured, hardly believing how their luck had turned. It was a comfortable 70 degrees and they slowly began to thaw out. Fingers regained their full function. Toes and noses could be felt again.

"Well, let's set up camp here for the night," Jack said, waving them in a few more yards away from the entrance. "Boots on, but a fire shouldn't be a problem."

As the darkness grew outside the team ate a meager meal of army rations in silence, and then Jack and Sam settled down to sleep with their faces covered against the brightly light walls as Teal'c meditated and Daniel, who flat out refused to have it any other way, took first watch.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

KAWOOSH!

General Hammond stood at the foot of the ramp as the iris opened to admit Major Griff and his three team members.

"Any sign of them, Major?"

"Nothing, sir. It's really strange." Griff said, looking tired and very confused.

"How so?"

"Well sir, we searched several miles into the surrounding forest. There's no sign of battle. Hell, there's no sign of life, SG-1 or otherwise. The M.A.L.P. was just where they left it, the structure nearby looked exactly the same as when they went through, they didn't answer our radio calls and there was no chatter. Their tracks lead directly to the structure and then …just ended. The U.A.V. was still flying a pattern over the ruins when we got there and it didn't detect any sign of them either, and it's getting pretty dark. It's like they just…disappeared…sir."

George once again hid his growing concern well, despite how hard it wriggled in his gut to be let out. "Alright Major. We'll have a full debriefing in one hour."

"Yes sir."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The team awoke the next morning as the sun shown through the entrance of the tunnel. It had been a long and quiet night, and though each member had taken their fair share of guard duty with the exception of Daniel, who had held out several extra hours out of undue guilt, everyone felt well rested for what they were sure was going to be a long and uneventful walk. They ate breakfast, melted snow from the tunnel entrance to refill their water canteens for the trip, and then started on their way.

The going was much easier inside the tunnel than it had been outside. There was no snow to trudge through here, and the ground was level and primarily made up of gravel that had eroded off of the mountain side.

"So, Carter," Jack said, in much better spirits than the previous night now that he was no longer in danger of dying from the cold, "how far is it now?"

"I'm not sure, sir. The pass looked pretty straight from the U.A.V.'s scans, but this tunnel could twist and turn any number of ways before we find the end."

"Yeah, well just so long as we get there and find what we need to find the gate and get home."

"I don't think it's going to be that simple, Jack," Daniel said hesitantly.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

_Count on Jack O'Neill to expect the most complicated things to be simple . . . _Daniel pursed his lips a moment and then let the comment go unsaid."Chances are we're going to find more of the same writing in the ruins as what we saw on the device. If that's true, I have no way to translate it…"

"You'll find a way. You already know it has something to do with history."

"With the history of the planet, yes, and thank you for the vote of confidence, but…"

"Aht!" Jack said, cutting Daniel off with a violent wave of his hands. "I don't wanna hear it! You'll figure it out!"

Daniel let it go at that. He knew Jack had confidence in him, though he wasn't one to mention it often. Daniel also had confidence in Jack. It was something that had grown between them over the past four years through their friendship and the very nature of their job. It was just very rare when they agreed about anything. Yet Daniel also knew that part of Jack's insistence that he would figure out the translation came from Jack's refusal to be stuck on a frozen and barren planet for the rest of his life, and that refusal alone could not get them home.

The team walked at a good pace, trying to keep up a light conversation as they walked while still remaining cautiously aware of their surroundings. It was soon discovered that the tunnel did indeed weave from right to left, but it always headed in the general direction of the city. Since they sometimes came to bends where there was no way to tell what they would find around the corner, Jack often had to halt the conversation and have the team creep forward silently for a time, weapons drawn in case of danger. Each time, all they found was more tunnel, brightly lit and indistinguishable from what they had already passed through.

By the tenth or so time he called for silence only to find more tunnel ahead, Jack began to get impatient.

"Are we sure we're not going in circles here?"

"Without the U.A.V. to indicate our position relative to the end of the pass, no sir." Sam said, checking for the U,A.V.'s signal. "It has probably run out of fuel and crashed somewhere within the ruins by now. I'm not receiving a signal, but then again, there hasn't been once since…"

"Since it snowed?" Jack grumbled irritably.

"Yes sir."

"Nice."

"It seems unlikely that this path is leading us in circles, O'Neill," Teal'c said as his deep voice echoed around them. "We have yet to reach any kind of crossroad where we would have to choose one direction over the other."

"Teal'c's right, Jack. Besides, if there was a right and a wrong way, I'm sure there would've been some kind of sign by now." Daniel said as he ran his hand gently along the wall, making it glow brighter beneath his hand. "Of course, it looks like it's not possible to put a mark on these walls anyway… "

"Oh, we'll just see about that," Jack muttered as he pulled out his swiss army knife.

_Uh oh._

"Jack, what are you doing?"

"Putting a mark on the wall. I'll be damned if we're going around in a circle for the next twenty years!" Jack raised the knife in his hand and made to hack the wall with a downward swing.

Yet instead of the distinctive chopping sound Jack wanted, all he got was silence and a bright glow from where his blade had hit the wall. Looking at his knife, Jack discovered that it had been bent in a perfect ninety degree angle at the handle.

Sam and Daniel tried to muffle their chuckles while Teal's eyebrow rose in amusement.

"Fine," Jack barked, slightly embarrassed that some piece of alien technology had messed up his plans again. "I'll just do it this way!" He placed the tip of the bent blade in the dirt of the floor and stepped on it, pressing it deep into place. The red handle was impossible to miss lying in the dark gravel. "I dare some bird to try and eat that!" With that, the Colonel spun on his heals and began marching again.

Daniel and Sam broke into a suppressed fit of silent laughter while Teal'c stood watching them, perplexed.

"It's a reference to an old fairytale called Hansel and Gretel," Daniel tried to explain, still smiling broadly. When Teal'c's eyebrow continued to climb up his forehead, Daniel just said, "I'll loan you the book when we get home. Come on. We'd better catch up."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The team walked steadily on for another hour, sat down and ate a quick lunch, and then continued on. There was no sign of Jack's ruined knife, but Jack kept scanning the ground as if determined to find it and prove them all wrong. Mr. Optimistic. Finally, while Jack was once again looking down and muttering unintelligible words, Sam called his attention up ahead.

"Colonel."

When Jack looked ahead he saw that the tunnel had reached an end at last. Either that or it had caved in…. SG-1 hurried forward, holding their breath, and found a wall of ice blocking their path.

"Looks like the snow piled up here and then melted from the warmth of the tunnel," Sam said, fascinated but exasperated, looking closely at the ice. "It can't be very thick, sir. The outside air has to be able to reach this area or this snow would not have been able to freeze like this. I think Teal'c's staff could probably melt through it."

"Good. I'd hate to waste C4 on this. Teal'c, would you do the honors?" Jack asked, turning to Teal'c, who simply readied himself to fire while the other moved a safe distance behind him. He then aimed at the center of the barrier, and fired.

With the first shot came the distinctive sound of cracking ice. With the second, the ice shattered to create a large hole the size of Teal'c's head. Yet once the tinkling of the falling ice ended, shouts rang out from the other side of the hole.

"Are those…human voices?" Daniel asked no one in particular, confused.

"Indeed." Teal'c murmured, his voice as incredulous as it could ever be expected to sound as he stared hard through the opening.

"But I thought the U.A.V. didn't find any life signs…"

"It didn't," Sam said softly, eyes wide as she too stared through the hole.

"So now what?" Jack asked.

His question did not exactly go unanswered. A woman's voiced called to them from the other side of the ice.

"Who are you, and why do you come here?"

Daniel eagerly moved closer to the whole, excited as always to have the honor of introducing himself and his friends to a new culture. Craning his neck he shouted back, "We're explorers. We want to trade knowledge with you."

"Explorers from where? We know of no other place but here, and we know of no other life in this world other than what is already here," the woman's voice answered skeptically.

"We came through the Stargate." When silence answered Daniel's replay, he continued, "It's that big round stone thing. It is – or rather _was – _how we came here from our planet, Earth."

"I have not heard of such a thing. Tell me, why do you carry the weapons of the gods?"

Daniel quickly turned to face the rest of the team. "They must have recognized the sound, which means these people are either under the rule of a Gould now, or they were brought here recently enough that the first generation is still alive –"

"Yeah yeah, Daniel. Now answer the poor woman and get us outta here!" Jack barked in a loud whisper.

"Ah, my friend here once served those whom you call 'gods'. Are the gods nearby?"

"Not in flesh and blood, no, but we are afraid that they might be able to hear us." The woman's voice shook a little, obviously scared of such a possibility, and then steadied with effort. "They brought us to this place from our homes and have not come back for many seasons now."

"Daniel," Jack said in a harsh whisper, "I know this really fascinates you and all, but do you think you could get them to help us outta here?"

Daniel turned back to the hole. "Ah, if you could help us out of here we could talk more. I'm sure there is a lot we could learn from each other."

"How do I know you are not sent by the gods to test us?" the woman's voice asked suspiciously.

"Fer cryin' out loud!" Jack exclaimed, abandoning all pretence of letting Daniel do the talking and rushing forward to the hole, sticking his face as far into it as he could. "The Gould are our enemies. If you don't want them to come after you, we can help you, but not if you don't let us outta here!"

There was a long pause and then the woman answered, "Alright. We will help you. But don't use your weapons again in an attempt to get out by yourselves. You will only hurt someone."

A few minutes passed and then a scraping sound could be heard on the other side of the ice wall. The team moved back when the sharp tips of pick axes broke through the ice, shattering it. Soon daylight showed in, bright and warm and very welcome. With the daylight came hands, reaching in to help the team members climb out onto the snow bank.

When the four friends climbed out and looked around them they discovered that they were surrounded by roughly forty men, women, and children who peered around the legs of their parental units. They wore heavy woven clothing of simple coloring and boots that looked like they were made of some kind of animal hide.

Behind the circle of observers the snow laden city rose. It was no longer a heap of ruins, but rather a strong and proud mini metropolis. Yet it was not without flaws. Several of the structures were in desperate need of repair, and overgrowth was evident in several areas, even under the snow. Beyond the rooftops more mountain peeks could be seen, capped majestically with snow and fluffy clouds.

The team took in their new surroundings, once again shocked at finding that things were so contrary to what the U.A.V. had detected.

A woman who looked to be in her early twenties, small in stature but with a great presence about her, stepped forward. She had a very round, pale young face. A breeze played with her long straight brown hair, bringing it over her shoulders to frame her face. She looked at them with slightly narrowed brown eyes through the wispy bangs that shaded them but failed to hide an acute case of acne on her forehead. Her voice was strong, yet not overwhelming. It was the voice they had spoken with through the hole.

"I am Lunasa. Welcome to Xanthus."

"Xanthus?" Daniel repeated questioningly.

"Sounds familiar?" Jack asked, turning to Daniel and expecting a stream of mythological babble to come flying at him. It was rare for Daniel to disappoint.

"Well there's about a dozen different things it could be related to . . ." He stopped short as Jack gave him the _cut-to-the-important-stuff_ glare. "There was a Greek god known as Scamander who was also called Xanthus by the other gods – "

"A Gould?"

"Possibly, but even if he was he's only known as a minor river god mentioned by Homer, and he seemed to be pretty much dominated by Hera and Hephaestus." Jack shot him a mischevious look regarding his choice of words, but Daniel ignored him. "There was a river in Troy named Xanthus and an ancient Lycian city named Xan_thos_ ."

"And any of this could be useful because . . ."

Daniel, knowing it was quite useless to attempt to explain to Jack how it could help them understand the people there, shrugged and left it at that.

"It is the name we gave this city. In our native language it means 'great study.'" Lunasa replied cautiously, watching the strangers carefully with tight lips. She had been standing there so quietly that they had nearly forgotten she was there.

"Oh. Well, I'm Daniel Jackson, and these are my friends, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Teal'c, and Major Sam Carter." Jack gave his customary "howdy" as Sam smiled gently at the young woman, for whom she had an immediate liking. Teal'c bowed respectfully even as his eyes were in constant motion, watching for signs of danger among the hodgepodge of people that surrounded them. Lunasa gracefully nodded back, acknowledging each one politely but cautiously. Her eyes never left them, particularly Teal'c, whom she studied with shrewdly. There was an odd silence as her eyes traveled to his golden brand, and then, seemingly satisfied that it was not a symbol she had seen recently, she beckoned them forward.

"I can tell that we have much to talk about. Please come with me. No doubt you need food and shelter?" Lunasa asked cautiously as she turned to lead the way into the city.

"Yes, that would be nice," Jack spoke up as he tried to fall into step with the young woman who was walking very quickly indeed. He fleetingly noted how the crowed parted unquestioningly before this odd girl. His knees, already protesting over the two days of extended hiking, whined at the injustice of it all, but he ignored them. He had a higher priority. "But what we really need is the Star–"

"Please, wait until we reach my home to discuss this matter more," Lunasa quickly cut him off, her face paling as she quickened her rapid pace all the more. Jack flipped the rest of the team a puzzled look over his shoulder, but he only got two shrugs and a raised eyebrow in reply.

The tired team struggled to keep up as the young woman led them further into the heart of the city, all the while being followed and stared at by curious and nervous onlookers. When Lunasa finally stopped, it was in front of a three-story building made of sandy-colored stone, died rose red by the setting sun, with a heavy wood door and wood shutters locked tight over each window.

"Please, come on in." Lunasa led them through the front door. Inside it was much warmer with the help of a roaring fireplace. A large rectangular wood table stretched the width of the small room with a smaller round table off the right in the center of what looked to be a kitchen. As the team entered, a figure rose from the fireplace and turned to Lunasa.

"Where did you disappear to? I turn my back for two seconds and…oh."

The young woman froze as she saw the strangers standing in her doorway. Short and round-faced like Lunasa, she looked to be in her late teens. Her hair, so dark it was almost indistinguishable from black, was a few inches beyond her shoulders and had a natural gentle wave to it. Her brown eyes showed no fear of the newcomers, but rather a mild surprise, as though her sister regularly brought strange people home for dinner.

"Please, let me introduce my sister, Lauria. Lauria, these people came from outside of Xanthus. They are in need of shelter and food," Lunasa explained.

Long-handled wooded spoon in hand, Lauria whipped around to face her sister. "And you think that they can stay here? Are you mad? We have hardly enough food to last the rest of this winter as it is! How do you expect to feed four more?" Lauria demanded, exasperated and not bothering to keep her voice down. If she put her hands on her hips she would have been even more intimidating, a true stereotypical scolding maternal figure, but it really wasn't necessary.

Sam cautiously stepped forward in an attempt to end the conflict. "We still have enough rations to last several days. There's no reason –"

"If these people want to eat, they had better get going. I understand it's almost impossible to catch one of those mountain goats," Lauria sassed, cutting off both Sam and Lunasa.

"Lauria!" Lunasa was positively fuming. She fell silent and closed her eyes for a moment, as if counting to relieve her temper as her sister watched, completely unfazed. "I have items to trade saved away if necessary," she continued calmly, looking only at her sibling.

"Not mother's –"

"Lauria," Lunasa cut her off sternly, "they need our help. This family has never turned out those in need before and we will not start now."

This seemed to settle the matter as Lauria nodded slowly, and then turned back to the pot that was sitting in the fire, steaming pleasantly.

"Please, forgive my sister." Lunasa said, turning back to her guests with the best smile she could muster. "Times are not easy on us, and she is only showing her… concern. Please come and sit. I think there is much that we need to talk about."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As the team seated themselves on the creaky benches of the long wooden table, two members on each side, Lauria placed steaming bowls of lintel soup in front of them and Lunasa took her place at the head of the table.

"You say you came here from a place that we have never heard of," she began carefully, accepting a bowl of soup from Lauria, who then brought her own bowl to the table and took her place opposite her sister. "Why did you come here?"

"We're explorers," Daniel began, assuming his usual role as spokesperson in matters of cultural understanding, but he was cut off from further explanation.

"We're looking for the Stargate." Jack said, giving Daniel the look that said 'not now, this is no the time to socialize.'

"Yes, you mentioned that when you arrived…" Lunasa said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Lauria watched the conversation with interest, and she too looked slightly uncomfortable.

"And?" Jack prompted.

"As I said, we haven't heard of such a thing."

"Perhaps you know it by a different name," Teal'c offered.

"Yes, good thinking," Jack said, jumping on the idea. "Have you heard of a Chaapa'ai? Circ Kakona? Circle of the gods, yadda yadda?"

Lunasa and Lauria merely shook their heads slowly, confused by the colonel's persistence.

"Are you sure?"

"Why did you stop us from asking about it outside?" Daniel asked, ignoring the look Jack shot at him for ending his interrogation of their hostesses.

"I didn't wish to alarm anyone," Lunasa replied apologetically. "If you could use this 'Stargate' to come here, the god could also use it to return, and this is what we are most worried about." Seemingly losing her appetite, her hands moved to her lap. The movement of her sleeves indicated her pace at which she was wringing them.

Sam could recognize the poor girls discomfort. They'd seen it so many times before in people intimidated by the Goa'uld's claims to godliness, but they needed answers, and if there was a possibility of unwanted company arriving, they needed to know it now. "You said the Goa'uld brought you here and then left," Sam said, thinking back. "How did they get you here?"

Instead of Lunasa's respectful tone, a much louder voice driven by anger answered. "They herded us like animals–"

"Lauria!" Lunasa shouted. "Watch your tongue!" She glared hard at her sibling, but this seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

"I don't care if the god can hear us! Let him!" Lauria shouted, standing up, defiance written all over her features, her hands clenched in tight fists.

"I am responsible for what happens to this family and what is left of our people!" Lunasa continued, also rising to her feet. "Until that has changed, you'll be careful of what you say!"

"I'll speak my mind! I have every right, as does everyone in Xanthus, to my freedom! I will not be silenced, not by you, or anyone else!"

Before Lunasa could say another word, Lauria quickly turned and raced up a flight of stairs to the upper floors. A loud 'crack' resounded a moment later. Evidently a door had been slammed shut.

"Please, excuse the interruption. My sister is foolish and headstrong," Lunasa said as she tried to regain her composure and her temper. Her cheeks were flushed and she struggled to take long steadying breaths. "She doesn't understand what is at stake, and she often can't hold her tongue."

"Sounds like we have a few things in common," Jack said gently, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood.

It worked as a smile tugged at the corners of the young woman's mouth, but then disappeared as she took her seat once again.

"You were about to tell us how the Goa'uld brought you here," Daniel offered gently.

Lunasa took a deep breath, as though praying for courage, and began. "It was not very long ago. A Goa'uld, as you call them, came to our home. His forces gathered about two hundred of our people and locked us in a large room of gold gilded walls, letting each person bring what they could carry."

"You said 'he'?" Jack interrupted suspiciously, eyes narrowed. After all, one but of good luck deserves a bit of bad.

"His name was Zipacna."

"Oh, nooo." Jack groaned. "Not Zippy again! I thought we'd grounded him when that Tollan ion cannon took out his mother ship!"

"Yeah, well the Tollans sent him home along with Klorel, remember?" Daniel asked, prodding Jack's faulty memory.

"No doubt he had another mother ship stationed elsewhere," Teal'c concluded.

"Please," Daniel prompted once again, his voice apologetic, "go on with your story."

Lunasa, who could just as well have been watching a tennis match during the previous exchange, seemed to decide she didn't want to know what they were talking about, and obliged. "They left us there in the rooms, crowded tightly for many days and giving us barely enough food and water to live on. Several of us tried to escape, myself and my parents included. We were caught and brought back, but we'd only try again. Our friends held my sister back at our parent's request, promising to free everyone if we succeeded. Finally the guards got tired of our attempts to escape, and…" Lunasa's voice broke, but she steadied herself and pressed on. "They killed our parents to convince us to give up... But it didn't work. We planned to escape again, but before we could try, they suddenly let us go. They left us here in this valley. This city was here when we came, but it was abandoned and we have lived here ever since."

"That's it?" Sam asked, voicing the disbelief that each member of the team was feeling. "You have no idea why Zipacna brought you here?"

"Actually, we do. It's the reason why we fear he will eventually come back." Lunasa said, sounding slightly nervous once again. "Before they let us leave, a great voice filled the room we were in. It ordered us to find something and discover how it works, or we would be punished."

"Uh oh," Daniel said, staring at Lunasa as she looked at him, confused. "This something wouldn't happen to be a circle of stones with a tall one in the middle, would it?"

Now it was Lunasa's turn to experience total disbelief. Her wide brown eyes stared at him as she leaned into the table, finally bringing her hands up from her lap to clasp each other tensely behind her bowl. "How do you know that?"

"Just a lucky guess," he groaned.

"We can't find the circle," Lunasa continued carefully, unsure of what to believe. "We searched the valley and some of the surrounding land outside by going through the passage that you came through, but all we found were more ruins of Xanthus. Some people had brought seeds with them. They had hoped to be able to buy their freedom with it. Of course, this didn't work, so the seeds were planted when we arrived, and cuttings were made of the first plants in hopes of increasing the crop. It didn't exactly work, so everyone has had to help ration our small harvest. When the snow came, we were trapped here because we didn't know that the passage just needed to be opened…"

"Um, sorry, but how long as the snow been here?" Sam asked politely. As far as she knew the snow had arrived only the day before.

"It came two moons ago."

"How many days have passed then?" Teal'c inquired, seeing the contradiction.

"Roughly eighty."

"Whoa! Ho! O.K., something really screwy is going on here!" Jack burst out loudly.

Lunasa looked at Jack curiously, not understanding what the heck he meant. When she didn't receive any reason why she shouldn't continue as before, she said, "We concerned ourselves with surviving the cold and prayed that the god would not return before the warm weather, and we would find the circle."

"Well, you don't need to worry about finding it anymore," Jack said, his voice normal though somewhat sarcastic. "That damn thing is why we came here."

"We came to your world to have a better look at the device ourselves," Sam explained. "Daniel touched it, and we all passed out…"

"I prefer 'were knocked out', if you don't mind, Carter."

"Right, sir…we were knocked unconscious. When we came to, everything was different. The Stargate, which we used to get here, and everything near it was replaced by a lake. There was no snow when we arrived, but there was after. Plus, as far as we could tell, this city was abandoned a very long time ago. We didn't expect to find you here."

"In fact, we came in hopes of finding writings that might explain what the device does, or rather did, so that we can use it to put things back to the way they were," Daniel finished.

"We found lots of writing in a cave at the edge of Xanthus," Lunasa said, "but we couldn't understand what it says. Some of it is similar to our own ancient symbols, but when we read them as we understand them, the writings make no sense."

"It sounds like Zipacna brought you here thinking that you knew how to read it. Hopefully we can help each other out there, though there were writings on the device and I couldn't translate those either," Daniel admitted ruefully.

"Can you take us there?" Jack asked impatiently.

"I'm sorry, but I can't today," Lunasa shook her head. "It's getting late and we have found it is dangerous to be out at night because of the large predators that live in the mountains and come out in the dark. I will take you in the morning, however."

"We appreciate it," Daniel said swiftly, preventing Jack from saying anything potentially rude.

"Lunasa," Sam said cautiously, "if you don't mind me asking…"

"You are wondering how one as young as I seems to have gained so much respect that I could bring you here without being questioned, yes?"

"Yeah, something like that." Sam answered, surprised at the young woman's perceptiveness.

Smiling sadly, Lunasa replied "I have often wondered that myself since we came here. My family was well respected before the Goa'uld came. When we made our attempts to escape, I was right there, helping to make the plans. When my parents were killed," she swallowed hard, "everyone seemed to look to me for the next plan, and even though we never tried it, it seems that everyone believes it would have worked. They've looked to me in every regard since then, and insisted that my sister and I take one of the largest buildings for our home."

Silence followed as the team looked at the young woman with understanding and new found respect. Leadership had been pressed upon her, and she had held up to the challenge thus far. That showed great courage and maturity beyond her years.

Finally Lunasa chose to break the silence as she rose from the table. "You are welcome to stay for as long as you need to here. We have rooms upstairs you can use. There isn't any furniture in them," her head bowed with embarrassment, "but it is the very least I can do."

With that she rose from her seat, took a candle and lit it from the fire place, and led the team upstairs to a large empty room on the second floor. There were small windows with moth-eaten curtains hanging over the locked shutters, but the wood floor was clean and there was a fireplace at the far end.

"I'm sorry that it isn't in better shape," Lunasa continued, still embarrassed by the meager hospitality she was able to give. She used her candle to light a fire in the fire place. Once the fire was crackling nicely she said, "My sister and I do not use this room as we are the only ones who live here and we don't need this much space. There is a well in back of the house if you wish to wash up. Now if you will please excuse me, I had better go talk to my sister. Good night."

"Thank you! Good night!" four voices answered as Lunasa left the room, closing the door behind her.

The team set up their sleeping gear, which they had luckily had on their persons instead of on the M.A.L.P. when it disappeared, and then gathered to discuss the day's events.

"Alright campers," Jack began calmly, keeping his voice down somewhat so as not to be overheard by anyone beyond the door, "opinions? Suggestions?"

"We could easily relocate these people, sir," Sam began. "It's obvious that at very least they need food supplies. If their home world has a 'gate, we might even be able to send them home, though Lunasa's lack of knowledge about the Stargate suggests that it's probably buried, if they ever had one."

"There's just one problem with that, Carter. We still need to get to the 'gate that's _here,_" Jack pointed out.

"Without the proper lifting equipment to raise the Stargate out of the water, that is quite impossible O'Neill," Teal'c countered sagely.

"Yeah I know, and I'm having a problem with that too."

"Of course it's very strange that Zipacna didn't send these people through the 'gate," Daniel mused. "He brought them here in a ship instead."

"Maybe he wasn't sure that there was a 'gate here," Sam said, shrugging. "Or maybe he tried but couldn't get a lock. We've never come across a submerged 'gate. It's possible the water is just dense enough to prevent a wormhole from opening." A puzzled look crossed Sam's face as she turned to Teal'c. "Teal'c, shouldn't Zipacna have been able to scan the planet's surface for the device?"

"Goa'uld long range scanners can only detect life signs and energy readings. There was no energy being emitted from the device until DanielJackson stepped inside its circumference. Therefore, they could not detect it without first finding it," Teal'c concluded, a nearly imperceptible smile in his face. Technology isn't everything after all, and though it made the Goa'uld strong, it couldn't make them infallible.

"Well, there's a good chance that the writings Lunasa says they found will be able to explain what the device did." Daniel explained optimistically. "I mean, there have to be instructions somewhere, and if the thing is as complex as we think it is, there's bound to be a lot of it."

"I sense a 'but' coming up here," Jack grumbled, performing something between rolling his eyes and closing them for the night.

"It's going to take time for me to translate it…if I can. I'm hoping Lunasa will be able to help me, and hopefully it's a matter of figuring out what the elements that make the new symbols unreadable stand for…"

"That doesn't sound so bad."

Daniel just stared back at Jack.

"That bad?"

"Remember how no matter what I tried I couldn't translate any of the writings from Heliopolis until you started speaking Ancient two years ago?"

"Vaguely," Jack said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, well unless we find an audio record of how this language is supposed to sound, it's going to be just like that."

"Oh… damn."

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the house Lunasa opened the door to her sister's bedroom and found Lauria sitting on her bed with her back to the door. The room was extremely plain with one rather large exception.

Once, their mother had been a skilled quilter. She made many quilts and traded them among friends and neighbors, and sometimes people would come from great distances to buy a quilt from her. Of all that had been at home when they had been driven out, this one was the only one that they had been able to bring. The pattern was of brightly colored triangles of varying sizes scattered across the field, but the blue ones formed a perfect circle. Since it was the only thing they had of their mother's the girls had agreed to hang it over a wooden dowel from the wall.

Lunasa crossed the room and gently sat down next to her younger sibling. "I didn't mean to snap at you," she began quietly as her eyes were drawn to the beautiful quilt.

"I know," the quiet answer came. Lauria's eyes, too, stared at the quilt, her thoughts dwelled on her parents as she repeated the words her parents had said to her not long before they were killed. "You have a responsibly. You have to put the good of our people before our own needs."

"That's exactly right." Lunasa turned away from the quilt to look at her sister's face as she continued. "Lauria, you've always been bolder and more outspoken than me. It's one of your greatest strengths. Yet it's something that the god hates more than anything, and that's exactly why mother and father insisted that you stayed behind each time we tried to escape. They were afraid that if you had spoken defiantly before him you would have been killed outright."

Lauria still stared at the quilt. "I don't fear him. In fact, I don't believe he is truly a god. He had no right to take us as he did, and why demand knowledge from us when he is supposedly all-knowing?"

"I agree with you, sister. But god or not I _do_ fear his power, and in the interest of protecting our people, and knowing that we don't have any other choice, I think it's best to try and please him. I know you're angry. I am too, but I must ask you to hide it like I do. Will you do this for me?"

A long silence was broken by a heavy sigh as Lauria finally turned from the quilt, their symbol of family, unity, and hope, to look her sister in the eye.

"I will try, sister."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The next morning the team awoke refreshed and optimistic that things would start to go their way. Things did seem to be looking up. The weather outside was noticeably warmer and the snow which had stood a foot deep now looked to be about ten inches and melting. They took turns washing quickly with the freezing water from the well, and then found Lunasa and Lauria at the table of the downstairs room where they all ate a breakfast of some kind of porridge.

After asking how everyone had slept, Lunasa said, "You'll need to put on another layer of clothing. I have some extra tunics here." She presented them with four shirts made of the same dense brown fiber that she and the other inhabitants of the city wore. They looked rather small

"I don't think I'm going to fit in that," Jack said, not exactly sounding genuinely disappointed. "No, really. I've got this…" he looked down at his stomach region and his non-existent bulge.

Lunasa smiled, amused, the first true smile they had seen from her while her sister chuckled silently over her shoulder. "I promise you, Colonel, these will fit each of you. The fabric is warm and thick, but very flexible. My sister has to go to market to get more supplies, but I will take you to the caves where we found the writings."

"Actually, I intend to visit Haylar. Many know that he is keeping far more goods for himself than he needs, so I hope to get a better deal from him than if I went to the market," Lauria answered, giving her sister a rather sly grin.

Lunasa smiled back, but her eyes were filled will concern mixed with disapproval. "Do be careful. We must keep harmony among our people in order to survive."

"Who said anything about disturbing the harmony? I only said that I will get a better trade from him." Still grinning mischievously, Lauria grabbed her coat and hat from their place on a peg next to the door, and with a large cloth bag in hand, left.

"I like that girl," Jack said, smiling shamelessly.

After the team had gone back upstairs to grab the rest of their gear and put on their new shirts – which were surprisingly stretchy and fit each of them well – they followed Lunasa as she led them out of the city. It was a long walk, and it was obvious that the other inhabitants of the city were still very curious about them. They stared openly from windows and doorways, and those they passed stopped to watch them go by, but they did not seem as nervous as when the team had first arrived.

"They seem to be getting used to us," Jack commented casually.

"Yes, you'll have to forgive us for our nervousness of yesterday," Lunasa replied over her shoulder. "Our first thought when you arrived was that you were emissaries of Zipacna, coming to demand the location of the circle of stones and its purpose. Of course we don't have these things, so naturally we feared for our lives. Now that you've been here a night and we aren't in obvious danger, everyone here is calmer."

As they continued their walk, the buildings began to dwindle and large snow covered fields were seen that stretched into the foot of the surrounding mountain range.

"Where exactly is this cave, Lunasa?" Daniel inquired.

"On the far side of the valley at the base of these mountains, opposite the pass that you traveled through to reach Xanthus."

"That makes sense," Daniel mused. When Lunasa looked at him curiously he said, "Probably whatever race was here before you arrived either built the 'circle of stones' or were studying it. They probably wouldn't have wanted intruders to find their work, so it makes sense that they put the city between it and the only entrance to the valley…though why they would work so far away from the device itself and leave it unprotected, I haven't got a clue."

"Well let's just focus on figuring out how to work it, ok?" Jack asked in an attempt to remind the arrant archeologist of the reason they where there.

The party entered the fields and followed a path of well-trodden snow.

"This path is well traveled." Teal'c commented. "How many of your people know where this cave is and what is in it?"

"Since we have found them many people and I have gone there to try and decipher what the writings mean, with very little success." Lunasa answered, looking rather hopeless. "I had hoped some of the elders that where brought here with us would know, but those that survived the journey here did not know what to make of it."

Moments later they arrived at the entrance of the caves. A few people were milling about, and a fire was lit nearby. Lunasa grabbed a torch and went to light it but Jack stopped her.

"Better save that for a rainy day. We won't need it."

"But you can't see in the dark…ah!" She gasped in amazement as Jack and his team pulled out their battery-powered heavy duty torch lights and lit them, carefully aiming away from her and the others about so as not to blind them.

"Lead the way."

The opening of the cave was very wide with a ceiling twelve feet high and almost perfectly squared off, suggesting that it was man-made, not natural. Instead of being constructed of the run of the mill brown rock or clay, the walls were carved from a black stone identical to the obsidian-like material that made up the mysterious device. The team lit Lunasa's path as she led them a few meters beyond the mouth of the cavern and then stopped, turning to face a huge section of the stone wall which at first glance seemed completely smooth like glass, but actually was covered in embossed writing; writing that looked rather familiar. In the middle of the text was a square foot devoted to a simple sketch of the device itself.

"This is where the writings begin," Lunasa explained. "It continues as it goes deeper under the mountain."

Jack pointed his light down the cavern's length and whistled. The end of the cavern could just barely be seen, lit by a circle of light in the center of a hole of pitch black, and it was many meters away.

"Looks like you've got your work cut out for you Daniel. Literally."

Daniel stared and blinked for a moment, daunted, and then managed to shake himself out of it long enough to ask, "How much of this have you been able to translate?"

"Very little, I'm afraid," Lunasa answered, concern etched into her youthful features. The stress and pressure of leadership was starting to take its toll. "We've been concentrating on this first section because of the picture of the circle of stones, and we've only glanced at the rest. The problem is that none of it makes sense."

"This is definitely the same as what was on the pillar," Daniel said as his blue eyes swept over the wall, the beam from his light struggling to keep up with them. "Which means this is going to take a while…I'm going to go have a look at the rest of this first th…"

He broke off in mid-word as a loud rumbling noise reached them.

Before Jack could even ask, Sam was already giving him the answer. "It can't be an earthquake, sir. The U.A.V. or M.A.L.P. would have been able to detect the potential for seismic activity, but the scans came back negative."

Lunasa went charging out of the cave with SG-1 hot on her tail. She stopped outside and scanned the valley, tensing. A great white cloud was hovering at the foot of the mountains in the distance to the right.

"Oh my God." Sam said, eyes wide. "Avalanche."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Within seconds, SG-1's hostess was pelting across the snow laden fields, refusing to allow the deep snow to effect her pace in the slightest. Her long brown skirt billowed out behind her as she ran with the team in tow. Halfway there, the small figure of a young boy was seen racing towards them.

"Bartok!" Lunasa called, panicked and panting, "What happened?"

"I don't know, Miss Lunasa. One moment everything was fine, and the next there was a great roar and a huge pile of snow was tumbling down the side of the mountain. It covered Haylar's home and fields…"

"What? Haylar's place? Have you seen my sister, Lauria? Speak, child, quickly!" she shouted as she compulsively grabbed the boy's shoulders, fear etched into her sheet white face and wide brown eyes.

"She went into the house some time ago, Miss, and I did not see her come out before I ran to find you," Bartok answered as fast as he could, frightened by the terrified look the young leader wore.

"Go, rouse everyone who can come. Tell them to bring shovels! Run!"

The boy dashed off towards the city and Lunasa continued toward the now dwindling white cloud and breakneck speed. SG-1 followed, each member unsure of how they could help, but knowing that they had to try.

By the time they reached the tragic site the white cloud had all but settled. Snow was piled around the foot of the mountain, and it was very deep indeed. If there had been a house there, it could no longer be seen. Here Lunasa finally stopped. She stared at the mound of snow before her, dumbstruck.

Daniel slowly approached her from behind. Softly, trying hard not to jar her, he said, "Lunasa?"

The young woman continued to stare, apparently unaware that Daniel and his teammates were there. Under her breath, she began to mutter to herself. At first Daniel couldn't make it out, but then he understood.

"My sister…My sister is here…Where is she?…What?…My sister…"

Daniel carefully placed his hand on her shoulder and called to her again. This time Lunasa jumped and turned quickly to stare at him with glazed brown eyes.

"How can we help?" said Daniel.

She only blinked at him, clearly in shock. Her clouded eyes cleared briefly and she was heard to mutter, "I don't know," but then her gaze returned to the snow and she was lost again.

Jack waved Daniel back a few feet, leaving the poor woman frozen in place, and said "There isn't much we can do here."

"What are you saying, Jack?" Daniel asked suspiciously.

"Now don't gimme that, Daniel!" Jack retorted. "It's obvious that they need our help right now as much as we need theirs if we're going to get home. However, short of digging with bare hands in the snow until we've all got frostbite, there's not much we can do."

"We have to try something, sir." Sam said.

Jack stood for a moment, considering a course of action. "There is one thing we can try that may help some," he said. Pointing to some large unknown trees a few meters off, "We need some really long braches that are thin and light, but won't bend easy."

"For what purpose, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, perplexed by the need for wood at such a time as this.

"To probe the snow with," Sam said enthusiastically, catching on fast as usual. "It will make it easier to figure out where to dig, otherwise they'll look for hours in all the wrong places."

"Exactly, Carter." Jack led the way to the trees, selected a branch, and with his knife began hacking way at where it emerged from the tree's trunk. Daniel joined him, working to cut of the smaller branches that grew from the main piece while Teal'c and Sam went to the next tree and did likewise.

"How did you know about this, Jack?" Daniel asked hoarsely as he worked to cut off the extra limb. His knife was not exactly meant for wood.

"This may surprise you, but I do actually read those National Geographics I have. Besides, I used to ski a long time ago, before um…" he stretched his knees experimentally, "and I saw a rescue team drilling once. I guess I picked up a few things…"

The team continued to work as men and women from the city arrived with shovels and roused Lunasa out of her stunned state. A man's voice rose above the others, pointing out where the house had been.

SG-1 finished with some help from Teal'c's staff to knock off the remaining branches ("Why didn't you think of that before, Teal'c?" Jack demanded, rubbing his now sore shoulder.), and joined the newly formed rescue party just in time. Soon the position of the house was marked with the help of the probes, and the digging began around it.

As the sun rose directly over the valley, the front door of the small single person house was finally unblocked and pulled open. Lunasa was the first to rush through the door. Inside it was dark and damp, and the air was growing stale. The light that came through the door revealed a grizzled middle-aged man sitting at a table with his head down on his arms in an attitude of defeat, unconscious.

"It's Haylar!" she called to those who where following her in, beginning to cough from the lack of oxygen. "The air is poor in here. We have to get him out!"

Several pairs of hands carried the man's limp form out onto the snow bank and gently laid him down on his back. Sam rushed forward to help, instinctively feeling for a pulse, and after finding a weak one, she leaned her head down over the man's face to listen for his breath. It was present, but shallow.

"He's alive, but barely. Everyone back up! He needs fresh air."

As everyone stumbled backward in compliance, the man began to cough, gasping for air. After a minute his breath became more regular and his eyes fluttered open, looking first at Sam, and then scanning the faces around him until they rested on Lunasa.

"Haylar! Haylar, what happened? Where is Lauria?" Lunasa asked, getting down on her knees in the snow next to him and clutching his hand.

"The snow…the snow came out of nowhere," he croaked, dazedly staring to the mountain where the snow had fallen from as he spoke. His eyes were out of focus, as if the whole scene was playing before his eyes just as it had happened. "Lauria had just left when it started…it was…so loud…. The melting of the snow must have caused it. When I heard it I went out to see what was happening. Lauria was halfway across my fields…. I called to her…told her to run, to come back into my house where we might both survive…but she didn't hear me. Instead she ran away, but she could not have outrun the snow…. My door was pushed shut by the avalanche just as I got back in. I was trapped."

Lunasa had sat there as though made of stone as Haylar recounted events. Her brown eyes had grown wide as he had described what had befallen her sister, but still did not move, as if unable to register what he was saying. It was now when he fell silent that she came to life once more. She swiftly stood and, grabbing one of the long branches from nearby, ran out into the middle of the snow-covered field and began carefully probing with it.

Sam wandered back to Jack's side as the rest of the rescue party tended to Haylar. "Sir, even if Lunasa does find Lauria…she's gone by now, sir."

Jack remained silent. His thoughts, like those of Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam, dwelled on his own memories of loss as they all watched the loan woman search for the only family she had left.

_Charlie…_

_Sha're…_

_Father…_

_Mom…_

After several moments Jack said in a gentle, hushed tone, "I know, Carter…. Let's go help her."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The next morning Lauria's body lay in the building reserved for public meetings. Lunasa had not said a single word since rescuing Haylar. SG-1 had kept an eye on her that night, but for the most part left her alone, understanding her need to grieve. People from Xanthus also came and went, offering their condolences. Lunasa still did not speak, her face so expressionless that she might as well have been made of stone. She merely sat, either by the fire place in her home where her sister used to cook, or by her sister's side, attending her viewing.

Normally, the team would have done their best to console their gracious young hostess, but this was not normal circumstances. If Lauria had been killed by the Goa'uld, the team would have seen to it that Lunasa had what she needed to fight back, giving her a sense of purpose that would get her past her grief. But a natural disaster is not something you can fight. It is something that you simply have to cope with, and the four friends silently agreed it was better to let Lunasa's own people help her to do that.

The team left the house quietly late that morning after making sure that Lunasa had company. The burial would take place in just a few hours, and they did not want to distract people from paying respect to Lauria's memory by being underfoot. They took some food provisions that would serve as their lunch and headed for the cavern.

"I think we're starting to wear out our welcome," Jack murmured, squinting into the sunlight as they made their way towards the foot of the mountain range. He put on his sunglasses which did much to block out the warm bright rays, but did nothing about the glares that they were now receiving from the citizens. Those who did not glare scurried away from them and peaked around corners like naughty children hiding from a scolding parent.

"Theories on what we've done wrong this time?"

"It's possible that they believe our arrival and the avalanche are not just coincidences," Daniel suggested. "They could be blaming us for causing it."

"Now I'm not understanding that. How could we have started an avalanche when we were in that cave when it happened?"

Daniel prayed for patience and then attempted to explain. "The fact that we couldn't have done it doesn't really matter in this case. We've run into societies that have been afraid of us before because they believed that our arrival was a sign of some sort. On Cimmeria we were welcome because we told them we are friends with Thor. On the planet where we found that Christian community, the villagers wanted to get rid of us because they thought we were demons, with the exception of Mary and Simon, of course." Daniel paused to look for any signs that Jack might have understood the point he was trying to make, and seeing none, continued. "Now I haven't seen any evidence that these people have a specific religion, and they obviously didn't worship Zipacna before they came here, but it's possible that some of these people have adopted him as their god out of fear, and since we don't serve him they may think that Zipacna caused the avalanche to punish Lunasa and Lauria for taking us in."

Jack's frustration with how narrow-minded and superstitious people could be made it difficult for him to keep his voice down as he told not just Daniel but the whole street, "But he didn't! It was an accident!"

"That doesn't matter to them, Jack! We're just going to have to watch our step and hope that nothing else happens while we're here."

"Yeah, well, with our luck…" Jack muttered, not bothering to finish the thought.

When they arrived at the cave they found it was entirely deserted. Jack and Teal'c opted to stand guard outside "just in case", while Sam and Daniel went in.

"You don't want to come?" Daniel asked, unable to understand why he was bothering or why his voice sounded so surprised and disappointed even to his own ears. Jack had never had any interest in his work unless an alien weapon was involved, and there was no reason that it would ever change.

"Yes, Daniel, we're sure. We've both seen you in translator mode enough to last us a life time," Jack replied, referring to the time not long ago when he and Teal'c had been forced to spend hour after hour helping Daniel to translate an ancient language, or else be stuck in a time loop for the rest of their infinitely looping lives. It had been an interesting experience…one they wished never _ever_ to repeat. Teal'c showed his agreement with Jack by giving a polite nod with a faint smile.

Daniel merely shook his head, smiling to himself, and then followed Sam into the cave, igniting their flashlights as they went.

Sam focused her light on the large expanse of symbols on the wall. "How much do you think you can do with this without Lunasa's help?" Her tone made it oblivious that she knew very well Daniel could manage just fine by himself . . . if they had the time. Thankful for her confidence in him, Daniel hated to let her down.

"Not much," Daniel said, also looking the wall over for a second time awed at the complexity of the language that had familiar elements mixed with figures he had no references for. "What I really wanted to do was take a look deeper into this tunnel."

"You think there could be something back there that might help?" Sam asked, sounding skeptical as she looked into the depth of the cave.

Daniel shrugged. "Here's hoping. I just can't help wondering why the race that wrote this made such a long hall to write in, but then didn't use all of it."

"Good point."

They started making their way towards the back of the tunnel, sweeping their flashlights back and fourth from the floor to watch their path to the walls to look at the writing. A few loose stones clattered ominously on the smooth floor as they were unceremoniously kicked out of the way. After a couple of meters they paused. There was a strange sound coming from up ahead. A tiny trickling sound.

"Water?" Daniel asked, looking ahead curiously.

"I wouldn't be surprised. It's probably coming from the melting snow on top of this mountain. Over time a series of cracks was probably made by water getting trapped in small places and then expanding the holes when it froze. Given long enough it would have eventually found its way down here."

As they continued on they noticed an increase in the temperature, and by the time the reached where the trickling sound originated they were both taking off their jackets. Turning their attention back to the wall, they found it had turned bright green.

"It's moss." Daniel said as he placed his hand on the wall. The green mass gave a little to the pressure and leaked water like a soaked sponge. "Or at least something a lot like it, considering moss on Earth usually needs some sunlight," he amended. "The water must be feeding it."

Thick and cushy, the plant was absolutely thriving, covering the wall completely from top to bottom, excepting only the tiny channels through which the water ran slowly down the wall and into a crack at the base.

"Hang on a sec…" Daniel muttered to himself. He directed his light along the wall of moss until the writing could be seen again, and then back. "The whole wall is flat."

"So there could be writing under the moss?" Sam asked, cottoning on, an optimistic grin growing on her lips.

"Only one way to find out!" Daniel pulled out his knife and, returning to where the moss began, started to cut it away. "Wow. This is really deep." A good inch of the length of his knife had disappeared into the moss. He loosened the edge and then dug his fingernails under it, ripping a chunk from the wall. Underneath was a deeply chiseled vertical line.

"Well, there's _something,_" Daniel said, turning to look at a bemused Major.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sometime later Sam stuck her head out of the cave entrance. It had finally been decided that eight hands would be more efficient in removing the moss-like plant than four, so she had left Daniel to fetch her CO and Teal'c. She found the two hardened warriors just where she had left them, sitting on logs by the mouth of the cave around a small fire.

"Sir, Daniel and I have found something."

"Already? Its been, what, thirty minutes?" Jack said in a tone of mock impatience, attempting to consult his still broken wrist watch. "Whatcha got?"

"We think we've found more writing, but it's covered with a thick layer of some kind of moss-type plant. What we've managed to uncover so far looks different from the rest, but Daniel says he can't be sure until we've gotten all the moss out of the way."

"Of course…alright, Major, lead the way."

Five minutes later Jack stood staring at the moss-covered wall, trying not to think too hard about what the very enthusiastic Daniel was trying to tell him.

"This line here," Daniel pointed to the deep vertical groove he and Carter had found which ran from the ceiling to the floor, "looks like it's a divider separating all the writing before it - which I can't translate to sensible English - from whatever is covered here. The fascinating thing is that the writing that we've uncovered so far looks like the language of the Ancients!"

With the mention of the Ancients, Jack's drifting mind snapped back into focus. "The Ancients, did you say? All right! You see, to me that's good news because, aside from their gadgets nearly killing me once and trapping me and Teal'c another time, they seem to be pretty good guys. You can read it, right?"

"Yes. Since so many of the cultures we have run into seem to have Latin as a root, I've started bringing my dictionary along. Between that and the notes I have from when you and Teal'c helped me…"

Daniel paused a second, trying not to laugh as Jack cringed and Teal'c tried to appear nonplused, while Daniel struggled not to think too much about how the fate of Earth and the other planets trapped in the time loop had been dependant on translations made by the two men standing in front of him. It was a very scary idea…one he was sure he had been forced to think about every time a new loop had begun…

Daniel finally broke the odd silence. "I should have everything I need, though it will take time for me to translate it all. I have a feeling there's a lot under here." He turned to look at the fuzzy green wall as he said this.

Jack bounced on the balls of his feet, rolling his eyes. "Here comes a 'but'."

Daniel eyed Jack over his shoulder. The light of Jack's flash light bouncing off of Daniel's glasses, obscuring his blue eyes, but Jack knew that he was getting the 'are you going to let me finish now?' look. "This moss stuff has to go first…all of it."

"Not a problem." Jack dug around in the vest pockets of his tack vest until he found his lighter. "We'll just burn it off."

Carter and Daniel exchanged a knowing look. Their prediction of Jack's reaction had been bang on.

"We thought you might think of that, sir." Sam moved to stand beside her CO, holding a small scanner in her hand and attempting to show him the readings. "So I took the liberty of scanning the material that makes up this rock formation. As you can see, there are minute traces of naquadah, as well as at least three other unidentifiable minerals here."

All Jack saw was a tiny screen covered with numbers and weights, none of which he truly cared to comprehend, but he nodded all the same, knowing that Carter would explain everything in the simplest terms for him any second now. It was becoming second nature to her.

"Basically, sir, I have no way of knowing what will happen if we start a fire of that scale in here. Torches obviously haven't caused any problems, but the heat created from burning this plant could cause a chain reaction and collapse the tunnel, maybe even bring down the whole mountain side."

"Surely you do not plan to uncover this wall only with our bare hands?" Teal'c asked, feeling slightly apprehensive as his flashlight panned along the huge green wall, but of course no apprehension was to be heard in his steady booming voice.

Jack's eyebrows shot up as he watched Daniel and Sam wince. "Oooh no! You've got to be kidding! Do you guys realize how long it will take us to do that?"

"If we all work together…well, it will still take a while…" Daniel said, and then seeing the exasperation on Jack's face he said hurriedly, "I heard one of Lunasa's visitors say that mourning for Lauria will last for three more days. After that I'm sure the citizens would be willing to help us….That is if they don't still think we had something to do with the avalanche…"

Carter opened her mouth to back Daniel up, but Jack beat her to it.

"Lemme guess. We don't really have another choice, do we?"

"No, sir."

Jack sighed dramatically, feeling like the best thing for him to do would be to bang his head on the wall a few times and he would wake up in his bed at home. He managed to resist the urge, and started peeling off his vest and pack, setting them on the floor against the rough opposite wall. Teal'c grudgingly followed suit.

"Alright then, let's get to work!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

For the rest of that day and for the next three days the team ripped, pried, and cut the dense spongy plant from the wall, revealing more and more script as they went along. Each morning the team went out after seeing to it that Lunasa had company, taking with them food for lunch. Each evening they returned, tired and with an excited Daniel in tow, to a dinner in silence with Lunasa, and then bed.

By the end of the second day of labor Daniel was positive that it was in fact the work of the Ancients, though why it was there was yet to be determined.

Jack was forced to keep a close eye on the young archeologist, as every few minutes Daniel would stop to try and read what had been uncovered. Jack knew enough about translations (admitting to himself that the fact that he knew anything about it was more terrifying than when he had switched bodies with Teal'c) to know that everything had to be uncovered before Daniel would be able to make sense of it all, so each time Daniel froze Jack was waiting to snap him out of it…whatever it took…

The team was forced to take frequent breaks, as the warmth in the tunnel increased as they worked their way deeper under the mountain. By dusk on the last day of mourning, almost half of the moss-covered expanse had been cleared.

The next morning when the four friends came cautiously down the stairs to breakfast, they found Lunasa, no longer dressed in the very dark brown homespun that she had worn for the last three days, but wearing a light tan cloth. Instead of sitting silently at the table, ashen faced as friends tried to comfort her, she was up and about setting the table for a breakfast for five. Her features were still thin and pale and her eyes were bloodshot and watering with threatening tears, but she looked up at her guests as they came down the stairs.

"Good morning," she said quietly, her voice wavering and cracking from over three days of silence.

"Good morning," the team chorused back cautiously, unsure what to make of the sudden change in their hostess. As the four took their places at either side of the table, they noticed an unpleasant smell. Apparently Lunasa noticed as well since she suddenly gasped and rushed over to the pot over the fireplace.

Moments later they each had steaming hot bowls of what looked to be some kind of mash in front of them. They each took a careful sniff and then did a poor job of trying not to wince, except for Teal'c of course. Blackened bits could be seen in their bowls, and it was obvious that the contents, though still edible, were badly burned. As they glanced at one another, each trying to goad the others into being the guinea pig, Jack finally shrugged, throwing out a look that clearly said, 'Hey, it beats M.R.E.'s again!' and took a spoonful. When Jack didn't keel over, his team mates began to eat too.

Lunasa, who had taken no notice of this little charade, was eating her food in silence, apparently lost in thought. They watched her apprehensively, each wanting to end the uncomfortable silence, but none really knowing what to say.

"It wasn't always this way," Lunasa said suddenly in a very small voice, finally breaking the silence. The team stopped eating to listen. "Before we were brought to this place our custom was to devote the time from one moon to the next, roughly forty days, to mourn. Now…now if we were to spend that much time we would probably die. So many people didn't survive our first weeks here. There wasn't enough food, water, or protection from the predators…. We had to make doors and shutters, plant crops, hunt and search for food and fresh water…. I can't help but want to keep mourning for my sister," she said tearfully, but before anyone could try and give her a word of comfort or condolence, she straightened in her seat and looked at them, her eyes brimming full of determined resolution rather than tears. "But there is work to be done. Please, tell me, have you learned anything from the writings in the cavern?"

Daniel was the first to recover from his surprise at her sudden change of mood and topic. "Ah, yes…and no. I still can't translate any of what is at the beginning of the wall, but we found more writings farther back in the cave. They were covered so it's really very lucky we found them…"

"Point is, a lot of it is still covered, and we could use some help from as many people as possible," Jack cut in. It never failed to annoy him when Daniel took forever to get to the crux of the matter when they had already missed a scheduled contact by several days.

"And you can understand this writing? It isn't the same as the rest?"

"Actually it's not," Daniel said. "We've come across it several times now, and I even know how to pronounce it…it's very similar to a language we have on Earth called Latin. I haven't been able to translate much of it yet," his blue eyes flashed in Jack's direction, "but from what I can tell it looks like notes of some sort, all about the device."

"We must uncover the rest before we can learn more," Teal'c put in matter-of-factly.

Lunasa looked down at the table for a moment, as though trying to choose her words carefully. "I will most certainly help you, but I am afraid that very few others will be so willing."

The team exchanged wary glances and then waited for Lunasa to continue, hoping she was not about to confirm Daniel's earlier theory, but knowing that, considering their luck, she probably would.

"You must understand that we fear the god, Zipacna. He threatened to punish us if we didn't obey and learn the mysteries of the circle of standing stones and tell him."

"O.K., there's your first problem right there," Jack said. "Alright everyone, place your bets on how well this is going to go over this time."

"The Goa'uld are not gods, Lunasa," Daniel said. Lunasa started slightly, nervousness in her eyes. "It's ok, he can't hear us. I promise."

"They are a parasitic race that takes hosts and slaves to use for their own purposes." Teal'c explained. "I was once in the service of one called Apophis, to whom Zipacna is loyal. I betrayed him to join those who wish for him and others like him to fall from power."

"We've dealt with them many times before, and we want to help you," Sam added. She glanced at Jack, who gave her a curt nod. "We may even be able to take you to a different planet, one where the Goa'uld won't find you again."

Lunasa looked from one of her guests to another. She did not seem frightened by these words anymore, nor did she seem to mistrust them. Instead, her fear that such treasonous talk could be heard by Zipacna seemed to dissipate. She did not fidget nervously anymore, but rather sat stone still. Finally Lunasa took in a deep breath.

"So my sister…she…she was right." She made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. "She never believed for a moment… I, though I fought against him, was nevertheless scared that with the snap of his fingers we would die… Now I think I understand."

"Well, I'm glad of that!" Jack said heartily, clearly glad that it had not taken days to convince her, as had sometimes been the case on other worlds.

A tiny smile flinted across Lunasa's lips, but then it was gone. "I'm not sure that it will be so easy to convince my people, Colonel. We're not of a superstitious nature, but many have already told me that they fear you and your team. They think that the accident…was not as accidental as it seemed… that it was punishment from Zipacna for aiding you…" Lunasa looked cautiously p at them, seemingly ashamed of the beliefs of her people.

"We thought that was probably it, and it's very understandable." Daniel said carefully. "But I think we can change that if we can get to the Stargate…"

"We wouldn't want to leave this place," Lunasa said swiftly, understanding where Daniel was going. "Though we were brought here by force, Xanthus is our home now. We've worked the soil, rebuilt the city, learned the lay of the land, and survived a harsh cold season here. We have our pride still, if nothing else, and we will continue on as best as we can right here."

"But what will you do if Zipacna comes back for the device?" Sam asked, concerned.

"Then we will hide it, destroy it, or use it, but we won't let him have it and we won't give up."

"How will you convince your people to fight?" Teal'c asked. "You say that your people fear him, and you have seen that he is powerful. How then will you lead them to believe that a battle can be won?"

"I will tell them what you have told me, tonight at the council," she replied, as though that settled the matter.

"And if they don't believe you," Jack asked, "what's the chance that they'll run us out?"

"None," Lunasa said with no degree of uncertainty. "They will believe because, for whatever reason, they trust me, and though they might not have agreed to my taking you in, they will believe that what I will tell them is the truth."

The rest of that day was spent in the cavern. Lunasa was fascinated by what SG-1 had uncovered, and eagerly ripped and clawed away at the moss to uncover the rest. As the team watched her work along side them, it became more and more obvious that the truth about the Goa'uld had rendered a change in her. Instead of the reluctant young leader they had met when they arrived five days before, Lunasa was now a motivated and strong young woman who hacked away at the plant to placate her desire to harm the one who had caused all her problems: Zipacna.

In the early evening they returned to the house, tired but happy with their progress. Lunasa then set off to the public building for the meeting.

"It will be better if you stay here," she said when Jack protested to being left behind.

"It's just that we've been practicing really hard, and we've had a lot of experience!"

Lunasa looked at Jack fondly, a hint of a smile across her lips. "You remind me of her, you know…" Her eyes went out of focus for a moment, but when she returned from her reverie she said, "Your presence may only make things harder. It will be better if the explanation comes entirely from me. That way it will be less likely that the more suspicious of our number will think that you have affected my reasoning."

Jack reluctantly gave in with a shrug as Daniel and Sam wished her good luck.

About two hours passed during which the four friends sat around the fireplace, chatting amiably and wondering what General Hammond was doing to try and find them. Then Lunasa came through the front door, her face set in an appearance of grim satisfaction.

"They believe you have told me the truth, and so do I," she said calmly as she joined them.

"Really?" Daniel asked, a little more than mildly surprised.

"Yes. It wasn't easy, but like I said, they trust me, and they believe that what you have said is the truth. I also told them of your offer to take us away from here, and I was right in believing that they want to stay. But they are nervous about the idea of keeping the circle of stones from Zipacna. He isn't a god, he is still powerful, and there are many who believe we would die trying," she paused, glancing down at her nervously wringing hands, and quietly added, "including myself."

"Well I think it's safe to say that if," Jack shot Sam such a look that she immediately corrected herself, "_when _we get back through the gate we will come back and help you with that."

"So how many are willing to help us?" Jack asked.

"Quite a few. I tried to explain that learning how the circle works could be the key to defending ourselves from Zipacna, if he does return. Those who can will join us at the cavern tomorrow. I suggest we all get some rest now."

And with that everyone said goodnight.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

General Hammond stood in the control room as the shimmering light from the Stargate bounced around the walls, fighting down the urge to pace. It was times like these when being in command of the home base really stunk.

"We've made a thorough search of the forest, sir," Major Griff's voice answered the General's hail. "There's no sign of them, or any other life for that matter, just as the U.A.V. showed."

"Are you positive, Major?"

"There's no way we could have missed them, sir. There's still no sign of their tracks. We combed the land within a five mile radius of the gate and still found nothing."

"Very well. Return to base." George turned to Sergeant Harriman at the controls. "Shut it down."

The puddle flickered and died. George returned to his office and closed the door. He sat down in his nice, comfortable leather chair, but it didn't feel so comfortable these days. In fact it felt more like sitting on a porcupine, and he wanted nothing more than to get out and _do_ something. For six days now his front line team had been missing. There was no sign of them. It was as if they had just vanished.

His military gut was writhing, gnawing at him. Something had gone wrong, he could sense it, but without any clues he had nothing to go on. As much as he wanted to keep a team on the planet to continue looking, he knew the Pentagon would not put up with it for much longer without a clear reason for keeping them there.

George looked down at the bottom drawer of his desk. It was the bottom one because it was the one filled with the things he dreaded most: MIA forms and forms sent to the next of kin.

He looked, but he did not touch.

_Not yet. There's no way in hell I'm giving up yet._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The next morning Lunasa joined the team on their daily excursion to the cavern, and as promised a dozen men and women were milling about outside it, waiting for them to arrive.

As they approached, the people gathered around them, looking apprehensively at Jack, Daniel, and Sam, but most especially Teal'c, who still carried his staff weapon with him everywhere out of habit.

"My friends," Lunasa called to those assembled. Her voice was strong and clear, drawing their attention to her, "Thank you for coming, we need your help. As I said last night, there is a plant covering some writing at the back of the cavern. This writing is different from the rest, and our friends," she indicated the four members of SG-1 who stood just behind her, "believe they can read it for us. We have to remove it from the wall."

With that she organized several people to carry torches that would eventually trade places with those who worked to clear the wall. A few more were assigned to bale the debris out of the cavern and into a pile outside the entrance. Several people cast nervous looks at the team as they passed into the cavern. If the citizens of Xanthus were trying to hide whatever doubt they still had they were doing very poorly indeed. The four gave each other dark looks as they took notice.

Yet as they watched Lunasa interact with the volunteers, it became clear that the faith and respect they had placed in her, for whatever reason, was stronger than their fear of the newcomers. Why else would they have come?

The day passed uneventfully as everyone focused on their work. When some took their leave, explaining the duties to which they had to attend, more came to take their place. The work progressed at a rate five times faster than the team had managed alone. When evening fell the wall was moss free and ready to be translated.

Daniel, of course, wanted to stay and begin the translations immediately. Armed with his Latin dictionary and his notes from his previous encounters with Ancient technology, the young archeologist stared avidly at the writing directly behind the dividing line.

"This is amazing! It looks like these notes where made a long time after the rest…." Daniel's voice trailed off as he started to consult his dictionary, which Jack snatched roughly from his hands.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but it can wait til tomorrow."

"Jack! Just give that back and give me a few minutes…"

"Ha! If I leave you here for just 'a few minutes', I'll end up coming to look for you in the middle of the night, and probably find you slumped over somewhere asleep with a wild animal sniffing at you because there's no coffee around here!"

"Jack…"

"Aht! That's it! No more! We're leaving! Now!"

And with that, Jack put a firm hand on Daniel's back and prodded him until they were outside, ignoring the further protests.

The next morning Daniel was up and ready to go and sat at the breakfast table reviewing his notes while he waited impatiently for the others to finish eating. Jack took his time on purpose, earning a warning glare from his friend.

Lunasa insisted on staying behind, claiming that she had work to attend to. The team decided not to press the matter after she promised to join them later if she could.

When they finally set off Daniel couldn't get there fast enough.

"I can't wait to take a crack at this," he babbled enthusiastically to no one in particular. "Two different languages from two different cultures in one place…Of course, I suppose it shouldn't be that surprising since we found the writings of four different cultures at Heliopolis."

"Do you still think the first one is related to the Furlings, or the Nox?" Sam asked, genuinely curious.

"I have no idea which, but there is a definite similarity."

"Well, just don't take forever trying to solve that riddle just yet, Danny boy. We can always make a return trip to let you play around here some more," Jack said warningly. He knew all too well how easily his archeologist could get sidetracked from their main goal: in this case, getting home.

When the group reached the cavern they decided to split up. Jack and Teal'c, both feeling a need to stay physically active, were not keen on the idea of sitting outside on guard duty again, so they opted to check out the outer rim Xanthus while Sam and Daniel proceeded into the cave.

"How can I help?" Sam asked, knowing perfectly well that there wasn't much. Daniel had the linguistic expertise. She had the technical expertise. Daniel had to work his magic before she could work hers.

"Well, you can hold a flashlight steady for me. I know it's not much but it will free up my hands and make things go a lot faster," he said apologetically.

They had reached the beginning of the Ancient writing and Daniel was gazing at it as if he was a kid starring a wall covered in bins of every kind of candy in existence.

"Sure thing," Sam replied, hiding her disappointment well. She didn't know what she had expected. "Just let me know when you hit the technical stuff. I can't wait to find out what makes that thing tick!"

Daniel just stood there, gazing silently with an expression of rapture on his face.

"Daniel?"

Sam placed a gentle hand on Daniel's shoulder. Startled, his head whipped around.

"Wha…huh?"

Sam grinned at him. _And I thought _I _got sucked into my work!_ "Let's get to work."

"Oh, right."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Offworld activation!"

Sergeant Walter Harriman's voice rang out over the com system as General Hammond came quickly down the stairs to the control room. The event horizon roared into life behind the titanium and trinium iris.

"Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir."

"Well so much for having to contact them. They beat me to it," George said ruefully. Leaning into the mic he called into the gate room, "Defense teams at the ready", and then turned back to Harriman. "Open the iris."

Harriman placed his hand on the palm sensor and the iris peeled away and disappeared. Though the shimmering gate a very angry looking Jacob Carter came storming down the ramp, heedless of the dozen deadly weapons aimed at him.

George winced, hastily ordered the defense team to stand down, and made his way down to meet him. He didn't want to be right, but he was pretty sure that he knew why his old friend was so mad.

_This is not going to be pretty!_

"George! What the hell is going on?" Jacob demanded, sounding every bit as angry as he looked. His red face clashed alarmingly with his tan Tok'ra uniform. His eyebrows didn't look like they could get any closer together or lower over his eyes. It was a look that had surely sent his kids scrambling for cover when they were little.

George thought it best to buy himself some time to think, even though he had no doubt that it would only infuriate Jacob all the more. "What are you talking about, Jacob?" he asked innocently, trying to sound genuinely confused as he tried to formulate an explanation.

"What do you mean, 'what are you talking about'? Where's my daughter?" Jacob's voice continued to rise as the SF's on duty in the gateroom tried to pretend that they weren't listening in, shifting about uncomfortably.

His suspicion confirmed, George sought more thinking time. Allowing himself to show much of the guilt he felt, he asked, "How do you know about that?"

"'How do you…' How do I know? Do you remember sending SG-9 through to us on a little diplomatic visit a few days ago?"

George nodded cautiously.

"Well, I wasn't there, but one of the team let slip the fact that my daughter had been missing for three days with no trace of her or her team! One of my friends only just told me now when I got back from my mission! Now, quit stalling and tell me what's going on here, George!"

_Jacob, calm down! Your blood pressure isn't exactly fun to deal with, you know!_

_Selmak, he's hiding something and you know damn well how much I hate it when someone's purposely keeping me in the dark!_

Jacob was looking absolutely murderous and George had no better way of explaining than to tell the whole truth.

"It was standard recon. We sent a M.A.L.P. and then a U.A.V. to P5X726 and found two structures. One was about 20 meters from the gate and we _still_ don't know what it is. The other is a ruined city in a valley of the nearby mountain range."

"How did they go missing?" Jacob asked, slightly calmer now that he was getting some answers.

"That's the strange part. We don't know. Colonel O'Neill missed his scheduled contact about an hour after they went through and we sent another team immediately after the M.A.L.P. showed no sign of them or any hostiles."

"What about the first structure?"

"I've ordered all personal that go through not to touch it. There are no signs of a power source that we can find, but we have no clue to what's its purpose is. Frankly, I don't know what to do. We've searched the whole damn forest, assuming that they wouldn't have gone to the valley without first contacting home."

"Well maybe that's your mistake right there, George. Maybe it's time to search a little farther."

George knew what Jacob meant even though they both had a feeling they would only find another dead end. Yet, lacking another course of action, at least this was something.

Leading Jacob back up to his office, the General gave the order. "I want SG units 3 and 5 ready to go as soon as possible."

"And I'm going too."

George turned to disagree with is old friend, but it was pointless. He could tell from the look on Jacob's face.

"Alright. You'll go too."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Jack and Teal'c made their way slowly back to the cavern where Daniel and Sam were sure to be still hard at work. They had not found anything of real interest on their walk, as long as it had been. Xanthus was small compared to modern day standards, but it was still quite a journey to walk its circumference.

The idea of looking for anything of interest had been more of an excuse to get away from the cavern than a viable excursion. As much as Jack and Teal'c appreciated Sam and Daniel and their work, it wasn't exactly fun to be around them when they were in full scientific and linguistic mode.

"Think they're done with the worst of it by now?" Jack asked Teal'c conversationally, keen to not get back before necessary only to have Daniel say that he had only scratched the surface.

"Daniel Jackson is very proficient in his work if left uninterrupted, and Major Carter knows better than to do so. I believe it is safe to return, O'Neill." The Jaffa gave his commanding officer a small smile of understanding.

"Alrighty then. Let's go."

As they entered the hall, Jack could practically feel the concentration of the archeologist. They could see two flashlights, one beaming steadily at the wall of Ancient script, the other on its end on the floor providing light for the figure who sat there feverishly scribbling in a notebook and flipping pages in another book lying open on the floor.

As Jack and Teal'c came closer, Sam, still holding her flashlight, acknowledged them with a silent nod, not wanting to distract her friend for an instant. Lunasa stood there too, watching with great interest. Daniel still sat with his legs folded and his work in his lap, occasionally looking up at the wall to double check that a cipher was correct and murmuring under his breath, but still apparently oblivious to the arrival of his two teammates.

Suddenly Daniel got up and turned around to Jack as if he had known the colonel had been there all along.

"I think I've figured it out," he said with a triumphant look on his face.

"Do tell."

"Ah, ok…It's a direct translation of this," he pointed to the unreadable symbols that preceded the dividing line. "But there's an introduction of sorts first." His hand swept along the first column of text from left to right as he explained. "It says here that the Ancients came to this planet many centuries ago and discovered the device. They formed a… a research group with the Nox, the Asgard, and the Furlings.

"As they studied it and the artifacts that they found in the city, they realized that it was created by a race that they had never encountered, but had somehow formed a language structure that is loosely similar to the Furlings'.

"Working together, they found this cavern with the instructions on how to use it, and this incredible log of the planet's geographical history. This unknown race somehow used the device to record each earthquake, volcano, and just about every other major event that affected this planet, including the events that affected the people here at the time! The four races somehow managed to create this translation."

"That's swell!" Jack smiled in mock enthusiasm. "That's really great, Daniel, really it's terrific. But _how do we use it to get home?_

"Well, that's the tricky part… I'm a little concerned that the Ancient translation is a little off…"

Jack glared, eyebrows contracting.

"It's a little cryptic," Daniel went on hastily. "On the device there were three hand prints, one on each side. According to this text each hand print is a switch to activate a different function of the device. One, it says, 'takes one to where he has not yet been.' The second 'takes one to where he truly belongs.' The third, and the one I think I touched, 'takes one back to where he has already been.'"

"So it did take us someplace else," Sam said she worked out the implications in her mind. "The Stargate could be anywhere."

Daniel winced and did a very poor job of hiding it.

"What now?" Jack demanded.

"A part of the writing is a historical account of what happened to the race that made the device. It explains that the race was peaceful, and they built the device to study the planet's history, that much I had been right about. The problem was that the Gould came and demanded that they show them how the device worked. When the people refused…the Gould wiped them out."

Lunasa stifled a gasp, surprising the others. She had been so quiet they had almost forgotten she was there.

"That…that is what they will do to us? They will destroy us?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

"What the Goa'uld cannot have, they destroy so that no one may have what they cannot," Teal'c said.

"But they're not going to do that here," Jack said earning mildly surprised looks from his team. "Because we're going to come back with help to defend you against Zippy. That is, once we _get home_…" Jack turned his attention back to Daniel.

"Right…well the strange thing is that…well, it says here that the Gould took the Stargate with them to help keep another Gould from finding the device. I guess they hoped they would be able to solve the puzzle…eventually…"

"Wait a second. They took the gate with them?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Then how about explaining how we got to this planet?" Jack said, becoming confused.

"The Ancients must have brought another gate here later, or maybe the Gould brought it back and left it. I don't know! The problem is that the last mention of it says that Gould took it with them."

"So we don't know where to look for it." Sam concluded.

"Yes we do." Jack said defiantly. "It's under that lake. All we have to do is go back and let Daniel undo what he did. The gate will be standing again and we'll be home in no time!"

Daniel looked skeptical but decided to keep quiet. Far be it from him to ruin Jack's optimism…if you could really call it that…it was more like denial…

"Let's pack it in for the night, campers. We'll set out first thing in the morning."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"We've made it to the ruins George. You have no idea how hard it is for me to say this, but there's still no sign of them here." Jacob's voice sounded distinctly worried and disappointed as it was relayed from his radio to the M.A.L.P. and then through the gate where it was heard by those in the control room.

"Actually, I think I do know, Jacob. I was hoping they would somehow be there too." George answered, sounding just as dejected.

"It's getting dark so we're going to camp here until morning. We're going to take our time heading back. Maybe we missed something."

"Alright. Be careful. Next communiqué in seven hours."

"Got it. Carter out."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The next morning the team was up with the sun. They had a light breakfast, courtesy of Lunasa, packed with their remaining rations and some food that Lunasa finally succeeded in pressing upon them, and began to say their goodbyes to their kind hostess.

"It's going to be very strange," Lunasa said, gazing at her new friends as they lined up by the door, smiling sadly with moist eyes. "Now that you're leaving I'll be the only one living here. It will be so…so quiet."

"Maybe ask one of your close friends to come live with you here. It is an awfully big house for one person," Sam suggested gently.

"Maybe I will."

"We should be back in a few days with supplies and help." Daniel said.

"Oh, but you haven't seen the last of me yet," Lunasa said, her countenance brightening. Jack almost thought he saw a familiar mischievous gleam in her eyes for a moment.

"I'm coming with you to see the circle of boulders for myself. If my people and I are going to defend it, we have to know exactly where it is."

"You are the leader of your people. It would be unwise to put yourself at risk." Teal'c reminded her.

"What risk? So long as we travel by day and are back inside the mountain pass by night we'll be safe. Besides," she looked down as she tried to hide her disappointment, "I can't send others of my people to go with you if I don't go myself. Though they seemed to trust my judgment and that what I have told them is true, they are still wary. A small group will accompany us so that I won't be returning to Xanthus alone."

From behind the door Lunasa retrieved a bag she had fashioned into a backpack, no doubt by using the team's packs as a model. It looked very heavy and was clearly filled with supplies and ready to go as if Lunasa had been ready for this for days.

Jack was readying himself to argue that she could not come, but then he saw the determination on her face. Stubbornness. Lauria's influence was showing in her sister. There would be no talking her out of it.

"Alright, alright!" Jack said, defeated but amused. "Let's get this show on the road."

As the party of five made its way along the main road through Xanthus, the citizens came out of their homes to watch. A few men carrying staves made of hard aged wood fell into place behind the procession as they went. By the time the party had reached the opening of the mountain pass, now made larger by the melting snow, an even dozen men had joined them, and others had followed to see them off.

"I thought she said 'a small group' was coming, not the whole damn town," Jack muttered to no one in particular.

At the mouth of the passage, Lunasa turned to address her people.

"My friends," she began in a clear carrying voice, "our visitors are about to lead me to the circle of standing stones, not so that we may hand it over to Zipacna, but rather so that we can keep it from him, destroying it if necessary." The people gathered around her looked shocked at this, but Lunasa pressed on. "We have learned how it works, and through it is not entirely clear what its purpose is, it is an awesome device, and it wouldn't do to allow Zipacna to use it for his own gain."

She paused as she gazed at the nervous faces around her, and then continued. "These people here, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c," gesturing politely to each one behind her in turn, "are our friends. They have offered to return with help to protect us from Zipacna when he returns." Her features and voice hardened in an expression that her guests had not seen before, nor had expected from her. "I for one will not blame them if they choose not to do so after the welcome you have given them. You mistrust them and have not bothered to hide that fact from them or from me, but I do trust them." Her expression faded off and her usual kind face and gentle but strong voice returned. "Trust them as you have come to trust me.

"We shall return by midday tomorrow. Until then, take care, dear Xanthus."

Lunasa then turned back to SG-1. "Please, lead the way."

One by one the party climbed through the opening and into the mountain pass. Lunasa and her followers gazed in amazement at the walls, pressing their hands against it and feeling the warm resistance as it glowed brighter.

Traveling the tunnel was much faster this time than it had been for the team on their way to the city. Certain that with the gate buried and the only population of people having found to be at least moderately friendly, they felt no need to creep around the blind turns, weapons drawn and ready for an attack. Instead, they attempted to keep a light conversation going as they walked briskly along.

Jack, Daniel noticed, was continually sweeping the gravel floor in front of him with his eyes.

"What are you looking for, Jack?" he asked quietly, trying not to distract Sam and Lunasa away from their conversation, comparing the roles of women in their respective societies.

"What do you think I'm looking for, Daniel? I've had that knife since I was a kid! Even if I can't get the blade fixed the other doohickeys on it are still good!"

A few minutes later Daniel spotted the red handle and Jack reached down and grabbed it without stopping. Inspecting the bent blade, Jack murmured, "Oh, yeah, I think I know a guy in town who can fix this for me…. He owes me one anyway."

With Daniel's help Jack packed it down into the middle of his gear where it wouldn't damage anything.

The sun was high in a sky of wispy gray clouds when the group emerged at the other end of the pass. They ducked back inside to rest and eat a small lunch on the dry gravel and then continued on.

The snow was not nearly as deep as it had been melting ever since the day the team had arrived, but it was still not easy. The melted snow had made the earth below it muddy and slippery. By keeping closer to the trees along their path they avoided the softer ground to step on the great roots on the forest floor. Of course, they didn't try this until everyone had fallen at least once.

By late afternoon they found the clearing where the device stood, silent and solitary like a strange miniature Stonehenge in the dwindling snow. The lake remained several meters away, but unlike the last time the team had laid eyes on it, it was no longer frozen.

Lunasa gasped when she saw the circle of boulders. "All this time…all this time and it was only a little further away then we had looked!"

"Yes, don't you just hate when that happens?" Jack asked, smiling good-naturedly.

_We're almost home._

As they neared the device, Daniel began unhitching his gear, eager to pull out his notes to figure out which hand print on the pillar was which according to the writing around each one.

"Daniel!" Jack called warningly.

"I know, I know! 'Don't touch anything!' At least not until I'm sure!"

"That's right!"

Lunasa followed her friends to the device, but her protectors from Xanthus hung back, as though fearing that something worthy of an evil beings attention must itself be evil.

Daniel was once again first to enter the perimeter of the circle, and when he did so the pillar came to life as before. When the light faded from the before plane surface the writing and the hand prints appeared.

Daniel paced around the pillar, looking from his notes to the writing as Lunasa continued to watch in wonder.

Sam, however had come up with a theory, and keeping her voice down to avoid disrupting Daniel's concentration, she explained.

"I think the boulders actually might serve as conductors for the energy field that the device used."

"How's that?" Jack asked, feigning denseness as usual. "Everything outside the circle changed, but we didn't."

"That's just it, sir. I think the energy field works to protect those within the device's circumference from the effects of…whatever it does…exactly…"

"You don't know yet?" Jack asked, eyebrows arched up in surprise.

"I'm hoping a second trip will help it to come to me."

"Ah."

"So, should my friends and I stand in the circle with you?" Lunasa asked, trying hard to follow Sam's line of reasoning.

"I don't think so. The energy output was enormous, but there was no sign of radiation and there was no damage done to the landscape…"

"If you don't call a foot of snow 'damage'." Jack interjected.

Sam smiled despite herself and went on. "You might be safer under the tree line, but we'll take care of the rest and come find you when it's over." Her smile faded as another thought came to mind. "I should warn you. There's a possibility that this won't work. Whatever powers this device could have a definite life span, and if it does this might not work, or something could go wrong in the middle of the process and, . . . well I don't know what would happen then."

Lunasa's concern was evident as she rested a comforting hand on Sam's arm and glancing at both Jack and Teal'c. "Then let me that you now for all you have done, even if you are unable to do anything more for us. If that is the case, I want you to know that I shall never blame you for anything that follows, and my people will remember you for your good will toward us." Tactfully ignoring the touched expressions on the faces of the warriors around her, she resumed watching Daniel, who seemed to have figured it out.

"This one," he said, pointing to the one on the side farthest from where the gate had once been, "is the one we need to use now. 'To take one to where he truly belongs.'" He moved around to the right of the pillar. "This one 'takes one to where he has not yet been.'" He moved around to the third and final side. "And this one is the one I touched before. 'To take one back to where he has already been.'"

Jack cleared his throat and shoved his focus back into place. "You're sure?" he asked, slightly suspicious. He wanted the gate, not a glacier, to show up.

"Sure my translations are right, yes. Sure that I know which side of the two left is the right one…maybe." Daniel grimaced.

"Maybe?" Jack rolled his eyes. This was the worst time for Daniel to be unsure. "Well, alright then. Lunasa, I suggest you and your people move back into the trees. We'll see you on the other side!"

Lunasa smiled quickly at each of them in turn, and then fled. Once her and her guard were watching them in amongst the trees, Jack turned back around and positioned himself inside the circle of boulders and Sam and Teal'c did the same.

"O.K. Daniel. You have my permission to touch it now." Jack said.

Daniel placed his hand in the correct print and found it to be a perfect match once again. Then the flash of white light blinded him and he knew no more.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Sam came around what felt like hours later, but looking up dazedly at the sky from where she lay on her back, she saw that the sun was no farther along in the sky as it had been. Slowly as she regained her senses, Sam noticed that her nose was no longer numb. It fact, she felt quiet warm all over. Hearing movement beside her, she slowly sat up.

Around her, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were all coming around.

"You know, I don't think I'm going to miss this thing one bit," Jack muttered groggily, looking up blearily at the pillar which stood innocently next to him.

Daniel started to get up and froze as he looked at the ground around him. "I think it worked."

Instead of a foot of damp snow, the team found themselves sitting in warm sand, tan and sparkling in the sunshine. Looking up, the tree line had moved closer again.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called from where he now stood.

Jack, Sam and Daniel all got up to join Teal'c. There, instead of the frozen lake that had been there minutes before, stood the Stargate, the DHD, and the M.A.L.P., all right where they had left them so long ago.

"YES!" Jack shouted, fists shaking in the air in celebration. "Way to go, Daniel!" He gave his friend a hearty pat on the back.

Turning back to the tree line, Sam started looking for Lunasa and the rest of the people from Xanthus, but she couldn't see them watching anymore. "Lunasa!"

Her teammates followed her gaze, and then followed her as she began striding back towards the trees.

"Lunasa! It is safe now!" Teal'c's booming voice only bounced off of the trees and went unanswered.

"Well where did they go?" Daniel asked, puzzled.

"I don't know…. Maybe the flash from the device scared them and they've headed back to the city." Sam said, but she didn't sound convinced of this idea at all. The young woman had been genuinely interested in the device. Surely she wouldn't have been frightened off so easily.

Jack was just about to attempt to call Lunasa's name when he saw movement in the trees. Figures were coming towards them, moving quickly and dressed in green.

"Take cover!" Jack said in a harsh whisper.

There was no time to get to the gate. Drawing their weapons, the team ducked behind the first trees of the tree line for cover.

The figures drew closer, flitting in and out of the trees, unrecognizable. Then a solitary figure dressed all in tan emerged.

"_Dad?"_ Sam said, so surprised that she spoke loud enough to give their position away.

"Sam!" Jacob Carter came rushing out of the trees to hug his daughter. "We heard shouting and hurried up to see what was going on."

The "we" was apparently Jacob accompanied by the two SG teams that now came out of the forest into the sunlight.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" Jacob demanded as his euphoria over finding his daughter safe started wearing off.

"That would be a long story, Jacob, old pal. Tell me, you didn't find a group of people in there did ya? A young woman with about a dozen men with sticks?" Jack asked.

"No… the only living thing we've found here is you, and frankly you guys are all we cared about." Jacob watched as the team exchanged confused glances. "Would someone please tell me what's been going on here?"

"What do you say we get back home first, and for a shower and a good pot of coffee we'll tell you and General Hammond the whole story, eh?" Jack left no room for argument as he struck a brisk pace for the Stargate, his teammates following close behind him.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"_Snow?"_

"_People living in the ruins?"_

"_Are you sure Dr. Fraiser found nothing wrong with you?"_

After insisting on absolutely no questions until they were done, SG-1 gave a full account of their activities over the eight days they were missing to General Hammond, Jacob, and Dr. Janet Frasier, who now looked at them as if they had just sprouted feathers.

"There was indeed snow after we touched the device; yes, there were in fact people inhabiting the ruins; and yes, Dr. Fraiser has cleared each of us." Teal'c said, looking back and forth from George to Jacob, answering their questions in turn.

"Teal'c, Teal'c, Teal'c," Jack shook his head sadly from across the briefing room table, "You have yet to understand the art of rhetorical questions."

Teal'c merely looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"He's right, sir." Janet put in. "I ran every test imaginable and they all came back clean, with the exception of one. Each of them was wearing an odd brown tunic under their uniforms. I had it analyzed and…well, it's not something you could find at the local mall, to say the least."

"We got those from Lunasa." Sam explained. "They kept us warm enough the whole time we were there."

"Who's Lunasa?" George demanded. Hearing one of his teams come back from a mission with a story about snow that didn't exist and people whose only proof of existence was a strange shirt was not his idea of fun.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that the whole time you were looking for us, there was never any snow on the ground and you never found any people?" Daniel asked, incredulous.

"No," Jacob answered without hesitation, but he still looked at the team as through something was growing out of their noses.

"How is that possible?" Sam asked, thinking aloud. "How can an entire population that is there for eight days be undetectable before and during those days except to us?"

"Perhaps the device affected us in such a way that we could find them, but they are otherwise hidden. It is possible that there is a shield over the city that prevented us from detecting their presence," Teal'c suggested.

"I suppose Zippy probably wouldn't have wanted his little project to be found," Jack commented with a mental picture of some rival Goa'uld blowing Zipacna's ship out of the sky…but this time with Zipacna actually in it…

Sam shook her head as if trying to make a missing piece of the puzzle in her mind fall into place. "I don't think it had any effect on us, Teal'c. Not physically. It was more like the device created an energy bubble around us, and it affected only what was outside of it."

Now it was Jack's turn to shake his head, but it was to clear his mind of the confusion that Sam often caused. "The point is, General, we promised the people that we would come back to help them. They were nice to us, but they're worried Zippy's going to come back. Besides that they need humanitarian aid."

"Also it is definitely not a good idea to let Zipacna or any other Goa'uld have control over this device," Sam added. "Even if the population never tells him what it does and how it works, the power source is immense and if he can remove it he could do some really serious damage with it."

"Request permission to return to the planet with aid." Jack said, turning to George.

"You don't even know if you're going to find those people again!" Jacob exclaimed, confused and annoyed by their persistence in believing in a population of people that he never saw.

"They couldn't have just disappeared! We at least have to try!" Daniel said, just as confused as Jacob but still full of conviction that what they were asking for was the right course of action.

George considered for a moment while those at the table watched him apprehensively. "Alright. You'll ship out again tomorrow at 0900 hours, but SG-3 is going with you to watch the gate while you go to the city, and you are _not_, under _any _circumstances, _not_ to touch that device again. Is that clear?"

A chorus of "yes sir"'s was heard, though two of the voices were distinctly disappointed, and it would only take one guess to figure out who.

"Good. Now I want all of you to go and get a good night's sleep. Dismissed."

That night Jack, Sam, and Daniel decided to take up their usual room in the barracks while Teal'c returned to his quarters to kel no reem. There was no point in going home, and they were all exhausted from the long trek back from Xanthus to the gate. Jack, however, had his work cut out for him.

After leaving the looker room and grabbing the cloths they had each become accustomed to having hidden in the bottom of their lockers for times such as these, Daniel attempted to give them the slip and escape to his office, where he would no doubt work until he fell asleep at his desk.

"Oh no you don't Danny boy! You're not going anywhere near that office of yours tonight, got it?"

"But Jack…"

"Daniel." Jack gave him the ''no'-is-not-an-option-this-time' glare and Daniel's shoulders sagged visibly in defeat.

Sam used a nearby washroom to change, and when she came back her CO ordered her to "watch Daniel like a hawk. I'll be right back."

After ordering a night duty SF near Daniel's office not to let the archeologist go in on pain of death, he came back to the barracks smiling to himself, knowing that even if Daniel got away after he fell asleep, the workaholic wouldn't get far before having to come back.

The next morning found Daniel sound asleep in the bunk above Jack's. With a little prodding and many longing calls for coffee, they changed back into uniforms and met Teal'c in the commissary for breakfast. They ate quickly with little conversation and then geared up for yet another trip through the gate.

After bringing up the M.A.L.P. to make sure that the situation had not changed, the team went through and expertly exited on the other side.

As they passed the device that had caused them so many problems on their first visit, giving it a wide berth, Jack and Teal'c eyed it warily, as though wondering if it might go off without warning. Daniel and Sam, however, looked at it will eyes full of sheer curiosity. Sam was itching to take it apart, piece by piece, and find out how it generated its immense power. Daniel wanted more than anything to have a closer look at the come-again go-again symbols on the pillar and figure out exactly what the cryptic messages meant.

But between the direct order from General Hammond and the vibes they were both getting off of Teal'c and Jack, neither dared to say a word and had to be satisfied with looking at it from a distance.

Their march to Xanthus felt far too long, even though they could see the outer rim of buildings about half way along the mountain pass. They heard no sounds, no voices save for the strange birds that sat in the branches overhead, trilling their warnings to their fellows.

The moment the team entered the valley as twilight settled over the mountain peaks, they knew something was wrong. It didn't feel the same. Looking around them with frowns on their faces, they realized that it didn't look remotely the same, either.

Instead of the mini metropolis they had left only the day before, there now stood a vast ruin of a once glorious city. Instead of flat plains once used to grow desperately needed crops, there were only rough fields of tall wild grasses and shrubs.

"What the hell…" Jack muttered, voicing the confusion they were all feeling.

"It's like no one's been here for decades…"

"…just like what the U.A.V. found…" Sam finished Daniel's thought.

"Is that not impossible?" Teal'c asked, eyeing the tall weeds that they were standing in.

"Um, yeah…" Jack struggled to work out Teal'c's wording and then corrected himself. "I mean, it _is_ impossible! Or at least I thought it was! So back to my previous comment: What the hell is going on here?"

Teal'c continued to look around at their surroundings while Sam and Daniel shrugged.

"You don't think Zipacna…" Daniel started slowly, fearing the worst.

"There are no signs of battle, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c observed.

"The city looks more like it's fallen apart by itself and nothing can explain that and all this plant growth except the passage of time…a whole lot of it." Sam pointed out.

Suddenly, Jack saw a revelation cross Daniel's face, and the linguist was marching steadily down the main road of Xanthus.

"What?" Jack shouted after his friend. But he hadn't really expected an answer, so it came as no surprise when he didn't get one. Jack had seen that look before, and he knew that the only way he was going to find out 'what' was to follow Daniel to wherever he was headed.

_I HATE when he does this!_

After passing the crumbling building that had been the home of Lunasa and the team's lodging for the extent of their visit to Xanthus, now missing its roof and all it's woodwork and been reduced to dust, right down to the tables and chairs that had been inside, it became fairly obvious where Daniel was leading them.

"Why are we going back to the cavern, Daniel?" Sam asked after finally catching up with him.

"I think I know what's been going on, but I need another look at those Ancient translations first…"

Something in Daniel's voice told her that she just needed to be patient and let him do his thing again…at least more patient than her CO was going to be. She could hear Jack's muttering behind her. Sam knew well enough to realize that even though he was once again annoyed by Daniel's typical behavior, he was just as confused as the rest of them and wanted to find what had happened to the people of Xanthus.

When they finally reached the cavern's mouth, Daniel dropped his pack to the ground and dug out his notes and his flashlight as his friends wordlessly followed suit. The archeologist then led them far back into the depths of the tunnel, farther than they had been before. The moss that they had worked so hard to remove was taking hold again, and had managed to overtake large portions of the wall.

Daniel ran the light of his flashlight along the wall as if looking for a specific portion of text, or maybe a bookmark. Finally he stopped and turned to the wall, starring.

"Daniel!" Jack's thin patience was getting thinner by the second.

"Shh, just…one minute!" Daniel countered without turning, index finger raised.

Minutes passed while Teal'c kept a wary eye on the faint light that could bee seen form the opening of the cavern, and Sam sat against the rough wall watching Jack shuffle around, waiting.

Finally Daniel turned around with a glazed look in his blue eyes, realization dawning.

Jack stopped his fidgeting and said, "If you don't explain what we came here for right now I'll…"

"We're in the record!" Daniel cut Jack off and was greeted by a stunned silence. "It says here, 'four strangers came to the city after encountering the…' something I can't translate… 'and were led to the history. They taught the inhabitants the workings of the…' same word, no equivalent… 'and used it again, never to return…'"

"DanielJackson? Were not these writings made many centuries ago?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, at least I thought they were, but I think I understand now."

Daniel turned toward Sam and Jack. Jack braced himself for whatever Daniel was about to explain…it was sure to be a dosey.

"Assuming that the word I can't translate here is the mystery race's word for the device, I think that we may be dealing with some kind of…time travel device…"

"Ah nah not again!" Jack groaned, looking at Teal'c. "Will it ever stop?"

"The descriptions of the different functions make sense now." Daniel continued, ignoring Jack's complaining. "One 'takes one back to where he has already been.' That must mean that it takes you backward in time. Another 'takes one to where he has not yet been.' That might mean going into the future. The last, 'To take one to where he truly belongs,'… maybe this race of aliens thought of a way to track what they thought was the natural progression of time…"

"Hang on," Sam spoke up, "you're saying that the device by the gate has a similar purpose to the time looping device on P4X639?"

"Only this one actually worked, and it doesn't involve the gate. You said that boulders might be conductors for an energy field, and the field keeps us safe while it changes everything outside of it, right?" Sam nodded, so Daniel decided to run with the idea. "Is it possible that the device is really making a… a bubble around us, and taking us through time?"

"Yeah, I suppose…there certainly was enough energy output to create a time inversion. But how it was able to do it without using the Stargate to create the time inversion outside of subspace…"

"Does that mean we have finally solved the question of whether it took us somewhere or not?" Jack asked rather sarcastically. "Looks like both or you were right. It did move us, but in time, not on the planet."

"Then the eight days that we were here, that time was part of this world's past?" Teal'c asked, trying to follow.

"Yes, I think so," Daniel said with a nod.

"So that means Lunasa and her people are long gone, right?" Sam guessed sadly. She had looked forward to seeing the young leader again.

"Daniel? Does this…record… say what happened to them after we left?" Jack asked quietly. He prayed he wouldn't regret asking if there was.

Daniel went back to the wall and moved just past where he had been reading before. Some moss covered to top of the column, but it was easily removed and he began to translate it, reading it aloud as he worked.

"'The Goa'uld returned some time after the strangers left, and demanded knowledge of the…' still can't pronounce that… 'The people refused and the Goa'uld attacked…Few were harmed as the people… used the knowledge the strangers had given them of the…' it's really starting to bug me that I can't read that!... 'to go where they had not yet been!' They used the device to escape and went into the future because if us!" Daniel said, triumphant.

"So why aren't they here now?" Sam asked, the weight that had settled in her heart now lifted.

"Let's see…" Daniel moved to the next column of text and began to translate it to them. "'The people then found the gateway' which is probably the Stargate, 'but were unable to work it…'"

"It's possible that when the device was used, the inner ring of the gate locked down." Sam hypothesized. "The DHD can keep track of stellar drift, but not if it doesn't know how much time has…or hasn't passed…"

"Hey, wait a second!" Jack burst out suddenly. "Are you saying that even if we'd gotten to the gate while we were back…" Jack's gears seemed to jam up so Daniel gave him a hand.

"In the planet's past?"

"Yeah, back there…we wouldn't have been able to gate home anyway?"

"No sir, I doubt it would have worked."

Jack just shook his head. The plan of just getting to the gate and dialing home had never failed so miserably before.

"What did they do next?" he asked Daniel with the air of a kid wanting to know how his bed time story was going to end.

"'After some time they used the…' damn it!... 'to return to where they truly belonged,' so they must have gone back to their own time… 'The Goa'uld had planted a gateway while they had searched for the missing people, but never returned through it or retrieved it… The people made the gateway open, and left through it to their home world!' They must have had a gate after all!"

"How could they have known the symbols? Teal'c inquired.

"Well they could have been well known constellations and they just needed the right order, or the address could have been a part of their written history, but when they lost the gate the real meaning of the sequence was lost too. Once they saw the symbols on the gate and the DHD it wouldn't have taken them long to figure it out…well long enough…it took me two weeks, anyway…" Daniel added modestly, shrugging.

"Lunasa did say that they didn't really want to leave Xanthus, but I bet if they realized that they could use the gate to go home, they'd have done it." Sam commented.

"How then did the gate get to its current position of the Goa'uld did not put it there?" Teal'c wondered aloud.

Daniel tore the moss from the bottom of the column and read, "'We,' meaning the mystery race, 'replaced the gateway to be near the...'" he sighed, exasperated as he hit the untranslatable word once more, "'so that the enemies of the gods would one day find it.'"

"That's probably us verses the Gould…. So…that's it?" Jack asked cautiously.

"Well the record goes on for quite a while," Daniel answered, lighting the last few meters of script with if flashlight.

"Though judging by how much there is left in the record, how old the city looked then, and how old it seems now, I'd guess that the record probably ended some 200 years ago." Sam added as Daniel nodded concurrently.

"I'd really better read…"

"Another time perhaps," Jack smiled, taking Daniel by the shoulders and firmly steering him away from the back of the cavern.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

After checking in with SG-3 and ordering them to return to base and report in before returning in the morning, the team spent an uneventful night in the cavern, taking turns at watch duty just in case.

In the morning they began their journey again, dragging a reluctant archeologist. Walking through the quiet city, the team thought back to the former inhabitants, victims of the Goa'uld's greed. They had survived, thankfully. Even without the aid that the team had promised, they had stood firm, just as Lunasa said, and they had not given in to Zipacna's demands.

Reflecting back on the young woman's courage, the four friends smiled to themselves, pride in their hearts. She had figured it out by herself. Sure, they had given her the clues she had needed, but she had put all those pieces together after they had left. She figured out what the device had truly been used for, and by doing so she had saved her people and led them home.

As they neared the end of the mountain pass, Teal'c noticed a dark thunderhead growing in the near distance.

"A storm approaches. We should quicken our pace."

"Aww, it's just another beautiful day in yet another forest," Jack groaned, cursing their luck.

They tried to double their speed while still keeping an eye on the dark clouds that seemed to have an oddly familiar shape to them.

"Ah, is it just me, or do those storm clouds have lights?" Daniel asked, starting to wonder if he'd missed his last appointment with his eye doctor.

"No, I see them too…" Sam said.

As they looked, the clouds dissolved to reveal…

"An Asgard mother ship!" Teal'c said, with much the same surprise as the first time he'd seen one on Cimmeria.

"Cool!" Jack said enthusiastically. "Let's hope its Thor…it's been too long."

When they neared the tree line they crept along cautiously, just in case the Asgard ship wasn't the only unexpected visitor. Jack pulled out his binoculars.

SG-3 had taken cover behind the gate, but they were there. He panned to the left toward the device, and there standing by it and watching in their direction was a small grey figure.

Jack walked right out into the open, his team following his lead as he waved an all's clear signal to SG-3.

"Thor! Buddy! Fancy meeting you here!" Jack called cheerily, but with a little suspicion. Each time he had run into the Asgard in the past had been an interesting experience… interesting, but not exactly fun.

"Greetings Jack O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Major Carter, Teal'c," Thor said in his characteristically soft small voice.

"I really hope you don't need our help again already…" Jack said offhandedly.

"No, we do not require your assistance this time. We have only come to retrieve this device for further study…"

"Whoa, what? You mean you're going to take it with you?" Daniel sputtered. "We've only just found it and you've already had your turn! Don't we deserve the chance to study it too?"

"Will not your NID attempt to exploit such technology?"

"Them? Mess with time? Na…." Jack went silent and seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, "ah yeah, actually they would be that stupid, wouldn't they?"

"Though it is true that the Asgard have studied this device before, we, like the other three races of the alliance, were drawn away to other matters before a thorough study could be made of the device itself," Thor explained. "The Ancients were afflicted with a terrible plague, the Asgard had to attend to the newly discovered Replicator threat, and the Nox and the Furlings secluded themselves for their own reasons. This planet and its device only just came to our attention once more, and it may prove very useful in our fight against the Replicators."

"O.K., I can understand that," Jack said, "You have a world to save, and that's fine. The thing is probably safer with you anyway. But there is one little problem. What are we going to tell the folks back home who are dying to come take this thing apart? They won't exactly congratulate us if we tell them that you took it."

"I understand your predicament." Thor answered carefully as he turned away to look at the surrounding landscape, thinking. "I think I may have a solution. We will take the device, but we will fire upon the planet after we do so. Leave your mechanical probe here, and as you leave, it will receive readings consistent with a great storm with very powerful winds, ones capable of forming what you call "tornados". If any of your people try to return, they shall find that the Stargate is buried." Thor turned back to face them. "Of course, tell your General Hammond the truth."

Jack thought this over for a moment while Sam and Daniel squirmed uncontrollably and the indignity of it all. Once again another really cool toy was going to be taken away from them before they could finish playing with it.

_It's not fair!_

They did, however, concede reluctantly that the study of the device might just do more harm then good in the long run…

"Deal," Jack said at last, "_but_, someday when the human race has finally gotten past futzing around with time travel, you have to let us look at it, O.K.?"

"Very well."

And with that, the team took one final glance toward the mountain range that surrounded Xanthus, smiled once more as they said a fond farewell to the memories of Lunasa and Lauria, and with mixed looks of longing and annoyance at the device that had caused it all, they dialed the gate, and returned home.

THE END

I live for feedback! Please tell me what you think of this, my second story, and my first action/adventure! Come on, you must have liked it some if you bothered to read the whole thing! Write me please! If you do, I'll read one of yours!


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